Since Andoni Iraola came in three years ago, David Brooks has started twice on the opening day, following very strong pre-season’s. The other time, last season, Brooks was unavailable as he was recovering from a dislocated shoulder – meaning Brooks has an 100% record of being picked on opening day by Iraola, granted, with a very small sample size.

Brooks impressed in his rare starting opportunity, grabbing an assist and proving a threat throughout – but AFC Bournemouth are set to spent £50M on two new wingers in the coming week, with Ben Doak officially signed for £25M, and Amine Adli set to join for £26M from Bayer Leverkusen once they have finalised a replacement – so where does that leave Brooks?

Here is a look through his time under Andoni Iraola, and what the future might hold for the Welsh Wizard.

The first pre-season under Iraola was huge for Brooks, looking to get back fit and firing following such a frustrating 2022/23 season, where having been cleared to play after recovering from Hodgkin lymphoma, he tore his hamstring in his first game back for the U-21’s, and was only able to make six appearances at the back-end of the campaign. And, owing much to the character of Brooks and his undoubted quality, it looked like he had never been away. He scored a screamer against Hibernian, a winner against Southampton and a nice finish in the final game against Lorient, and was without a doubt the standout player in the friendlies. So it was no surprise that against West Ham, in Andoni Iraola’s first game at the club, that Brooks was inserted into the starting lineup. Brooks was hauled off in the 75th minute without making too much of an impact, with his replacement Antoine Semenyo playing a large part in the equaliser. However, Semenyo took Brooks’ place in the XI, and Brooks was unable to win it back. His next start came as captain in the Carabao Cup against Swansea, perhaps a show of faith from Iraola in Brooks, and the Welshman rewarded Iraola by scoring his first goal since his Cancer diagnosis, a fantastic moment. The next league game, against Brentford, Brooks managed his first league goal, another emotional moment for himself, players, staff and fans alike. But despite his back-to-back goals, Brooks was unable to win back his place in the lineup, even though Andoni Iraola could not buy a win in the league. He started another cup game against Stoke, but could not displace Marcus Tavernier, Dango Ouattara or Semenyo.

Brooks’ next, and final, league start of the season, came in perhaps Andoni Iraola’s darkest hour as AFC Bournemouth manager. Brooks played a part in Dom Solanke’s opener, but a 2-1 defeat at home to Wolves left Iraola without a win in the Premier League in nine games. Questions were being asked of Iraola, but a 2-1 win against Burnley finally followed, with Brooks left on the bench as an unused substitute. Including the Burnley game, Brooks played just eight minutes in the next seven league matches, which came at the latter stages of a 3-1 win over former club Sheffield United. The team were winning, Luis Sinisterra becoming the latest to leapfrog him in the pecking order, and Brooks was just not a part of the success. After the 3-0 win at Manchester United, he did play a part in the next four games off the bench, but all were in the latter stages of games (and mainly as a result of his competitor Dango Ouattara having to play left back), playing 41 minutes across the four games, 21 of which came against Liverpool. Brooks did captain the side twice further in the cup, including a starring performance against Swansea where he scored once and grabbed two assists, but days later, he was sent out on loan to South Coast neighbours Southampton in the Championship. Romain Faivre came back from his loan at Lorient, and although Iraola made it clear he was a fan of Brooks, the winger wanted to play week in, week out in the year of a European Championship.

There was, of course, no Euro visit for Wales, but Brooks’ loan at Southampton was a success. He won promotion via the playoffs, scoring twice and racking up six assists for the Saints. He made 13 starts, with a further seven coming from the bench, compared to 13 appearances in the league for Bournemouth, of which just two were starts.

However, a major complication from Brooks’ loan came in the playoff final, where as previously mentioned, Brooks sustained a dislocated shoulder in the early stages of their win against Leeds. This meant that when he returned to AFCB, he did not have a pre-season, and didn’t have the chance to impress like the year before. He was brought back into the squad for the famous 3-2 win against Everton, feeling like somewhat of a forgotten man, and remained an unused substitute for the next three games after that. His first chance of the season came against Leicester at the King Power as Iraola was chasing the game, coming on for the last nine minutes. He was an unused substitute for the next game, a 2-0 win against Arsenal, but his season turned around from that point.

Having not played in seven of the first eight, Brooks only failed to feature in two of the remaining thirty games, racking up 29 appearances in the league, and a further four games in cup competitions. His reintroduction to the playing XI was perhaps in large part due to injuries – in January and February, his best spell of the season, he started six out of seven games; the only game he didn’t start was when he scored the winner against Everton, which won him the Premier League goal of the month. His best performance was undoubtedly in the incredible 4-1 win over Newcastle – it was like watching the David Brooks of old, and with another top performance coming in the 5-0 dismantling of Nottingham Forest, it seemed the place in the lineup was his to lose.

But that wasn’t quite the case, with options returning throughout the pitch, Brooks eventually reverted back to the substitute bench, not starting from February until the last day of the season as the Cherries faltered and couldn’t maintain a European push. There is no doubt the best football that was played that season came in the January/February period when Brooks was starting. Coincidence or not?

Not a complete coincidence – when David Brooks is on it he is offers something so different to any other AFCB winger, in a good way. He has a technical brilliance, an ability to see things that others can’t, and to pick them out as well. He can use his body excellently to beat his man, and he might not be the quickest of them all but he’s no slouch either.

Yet with the team struggling, he could not find his way back into the starting XI. Nor could he impact any games from the bench with goals or assists – which is always a tough ask for any player, not being in the rhythm of the game.

Has anything changed? It was another impressive pre-season for Brooks, from what the fans saw. He looked bright in the games in America, and against Real Sociedad. He was rewarded with a start against the Champions, although, like most of his starts, there was very little options for anything else.

That seems to be the key – starting Brooks when there is little to no choice, then not starting him again. Brooks was good, he caused Jeremie Frimpong issues and laid a beautiful assist on to Antoine Semenyo to get back into the game, a lovely cross along the floor to lay it on a plate for Semenyo’s first of the day. He might well start again against Wolves – Ben Doak has only just arrived, Amine Adli has not yet been finalised, and Marcus Tavernier and Alex Scott will likely start again with Ryan Christie and Justin Kluivert only just returning to training. And after that?

Brooks has made it clear that he does not enjoy coming off the bench every week, and that he wants to start. This feels important, given that it has been made very clear by the club that they will not stand in the way of anyone who wants to leave. To say the journey with Brooks has been a rollercoaster would be an understatement of the highest order, but it is highly possible that twisty, turvy ride is coming to an end.

He will likely have Semenyo, Tavernier, Doak and Adli ahead of him in the pecking order, and more importantly he has less than 12 months left on his existing deal, which expires in June 2026. The club are unlikely to ask for any extortionate fee for Brooks, but there is no doubt he has more than paid back the £11.5M fee paid seven years ago to Sheffield United. It would be interesting to see if Brooks would be willing to drop to the Championship, as he did on loan a year and a half again.

There is, of course, the chance that Brooks remains at the club to fight for his place and continue playing Premier League football. He started on the left against Liverpool, which he hasn’t done much before, and has also played some minutes in the 10 under Iraola. He hasn’t perhaps got the goals and assists he would like, but that isn’t everything for Iraola, given that Marcus Tavernier starts most weeks. But Tavernier will likely continue to be ahead of Brooks in the pecking order for his work off the ball, he is a player that Andoni absolutely adores for his work rate. Brooks is not lazy, and he works hard, having completed more sprints than any other player in the Premier League last weekend, but perhaps does not get quite as stuck in compared to others (especially when it comes to heading duels), and is not quite as effective in the press as some of his peers. I don’t think he’s bad at it at all – but there must be a reason Iraola picks others ahead of him?

Hamed Traore, Romain Faivre and Philip Billing are all likely to also want to leave, so whether that allows Brooks to leave as well, should he want to, is yet another question. Given last year’s injury crisis, they will not want to leave themselves shorthanded – at the start of the season, no one would have predicted Brooks to play 29 games in the season. But as previously mentioned, Brooks will want to play week in week out, especially in a World Cup year, should Wales qualify. I would suggest, however, that Brooks playing as a squad player in the top flight of English football, and his undoubted quality, would land him on the plane regardless, should they qualify.

Iraola has often expressed his admiration for Brooks, but that might not be enough for him to be a starting figure at the club, and I predict that is unlikely to change. It is definitely something to watch in the closing weeks of the transfer window.

Whatever happens, David Brooks will always live long in the hearts of AFC Bournemouth fans. What he has been through, the way he has fought back, has been nothing short of remarkable. Now it’s time for Brooks to decide whether he continues to fight at Bournemouth, or head to pastures new.