Juanlu Sánchez faces slow Bournemouth start after summer move from Sevilla

Juanlu Sánchez has endured a difficult beginning to life at Bournemouth, with the summer signing yet to play a single minute in the Premier League.

The defender arrived from Sevilla hoping to take another step in his career under Marco Rose, but an injury disrupted the beginning of his Bournemouth spell. Four league matches into the season, his only competitive action has been a ten-minute appearance in the Carabao Cup.

His limited involvement is now attracting attention in Spain, particularly after Juanlu was also left out of Bournemouth’s Europa League squad.

According to El Desmarque, there had been interest in Spain over whether Juanlu could feature against Real Sociedad this week.

Instead, Bournemouth recorded a 2-1 victory without him.

His absence from the European squad is not simply a sporting decision, however. Bournemouth have pointed towards UEFA registration requirements, which forced them to account for club-trained and locally trained players when selecting their 25-man squad.

Juanlu ultimately missed out as Bournemouth constructed a squad capable of meeting those regulations.

That means his immediate opportunities will have to come domestically.

Despite receiving significantly fewer minutes than he might have expected following his move from Sevilla, Juanlu is reportedly showing no signs of concern.

The Spaniard remains committed to succeeding at Bournemouth and understands that he must earn his position in a team which qualified for Europe before his arrival.

His initial injury has complicated that process, but the challenge now is convincing Rose that he deserves more opportunities in the Premier League and domestic cup competitions.

The lack of European football could make that task more difficult by reducing the number of matches available for rotation.

Four league games is still a small sample, but Juanlu’s Bournemouth career has clearly started more slowly than anticipated. His next challenge is turning his limited domestic opportunities into a genuine place in Rose’s plans.

Juanlu must now target Premier League and domestic cup opportunities after missing out on Bournemouth’s Europa League squad.

With European matches unavailable to him, making an impression in training and taking advantage of any minutes Rose provides will be crucial to changing his position within the squad.