CHERRY PICK

BOURNEMOUTH confirmed Marco Rose will become their new manager ahead of the new season.

Andoni Iraola’s contract at the Vitality Stadium expires at the end of the current campaign.

And the Spaniard decided against signing a new contract to walk away for a fresh challenge.

But now, six days after Iraola’s exit was made public, the Cherries have sealed his successor in German Rose.

The club said: “AFC Bournemouth is delighted to confirm the appointment of Marco Rose as the club’s new head coach on a three-year contract, which will begin following the conclusion of the 2025-26 season.

“The 49-year-old arrives on the south coast with a wealth of experience at the highest level of European football, having managed Red Bull Salzburg, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Borussia Dortmund, and RB Leipzig.

“The club’s immediate focus remains firmly on finishing the current campaign as strongly as possible, with the players and staff continuing to show full commitment to achieving positive results and building on the current 13-game unbeaten run.

“Everyone at AFC Bournemouth looks forward to welcoming Marco to Vitality Stadium as he begins his role as head coach in the summer.”

Rose spent 16 years as a defender in his homeland before stepping into coaching, initially with his boyhood club Lokomotive Leipzig in 2012.

He joined the Red Bull stable the following year with Red Bull Salzburg’s Under-16s team and rose through the ranks, eventually becoming first-team boss in 2017.

Rose led his side to back-to-back Austrian Bundesliga titles before returning to Germany in 2019 when he took over at Monchengladbach.

After two years, the gaffer moved on to Borussia Dortmund, where he worked with Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham.

But he lasted just one season – finishing second behind Bayern Munich and failing to get out of the Champions League group.

Rose was not out of work for long, though, and headed back to his hometown when named RB Leipzig manager in September 2022.

Leipzig won the DFB Pokal and Supercup under Rose but sacked him in March 2025.

As for Iraola, he has no shortage of options after leading Bournemouth to 12th and ninth-placed finishes while they sit level on points with sixth-placed Chelsea with five games of his term to go.

SunSport has already exclusively revealed that Crystal Palace fancy making the Spaniard their new boss to replace the outgoing Oliver Glasner.

And according to Spanish outlet Marca, he has a lucrative multi-million-pound offer on the table from the Cherries’ Prem rivals.

They claim that Palace have reached out to the manager with a “long-term, well-paid project” to coax him to South London.

Iraola has also been linked with boyhood club Athletic Bilbao and even the Manchester United job – Sun.