On the 17th August 2024, Dean Huijsen unexpectedly made his AFC Bournemouth debut in the season opener at Nottingham Forest, putting in a man of the match worthy display as the sides drew 1-1. Despite his superb performance, Huijsen was then dropped for the visit of Newcastle the following week. He would only make 1 further start in the league, a 3-0 defeat at Anfield in early September, until Marcos Senesi got injured at Wolves in November. The rest, of course, is history.

Fast forward a year, and fellow centre back Veljko Milosavljevic makes his debut in similarly unexpected circumstances, given a chance from the off due to a minor injury to new man Bafode Diakite. ‘Milo’ had only trained with the club for a few days since joining on deadline day, and given his age, lack of experience, plus lack of knowledge of his teammates, he would’ve been forgiven had he not been at his best.

But the Serb rose to the occasion (very literally, given it felt he headed anything that moved), putting in a brilliant performance, with a maturity way beyond his years. His final stat line included 11 defensive contributions, nine clearances (six headed), seven passes into the final third, one chance created and 100% of his tackles won. Had you been a casual fan without the knowledge that this was his debut, you’d have thought he had been doing this in the Premier League for years.

So now the dilemma is posed to Andoni Iraola – does he give Veljko the same treatment he gave Huijsen last season, making him bide his time for another Premier League start? Or does he continue to show some faith in the 18 year old, and hand him another gig in the starting XI?

This decision might have been an easier one if his counterpart, Diakite, had started his Bournemouth career badly. But he certainly hasn’t – after shipping four goals at Anfield (none of which were his fault), it’s been back-to-back clean sheets in the league for ‘Bafo’.

Diakite’s performance in the season opener wasn’t the best, but like Milosavljevic, he was drafted into the starting XI just days after joining, and was excused for not looking as comfortable as he could’ve been. A key factor in this was the man next to him, Marcos Senesi, was also not at his best on that evening in Liverpool. But since then, Senesi has stepped up in a major way. The pairing of Senesi + Diakite was impenetrable against Wolves and Spurs, leading to the previously mentioned clean sheets. They looked very strong and comfortable as a pairing, and you would be forgiven for thinking it would be a while until we see anyone else line up there.

The £35M Frenchman has won 100% of his tackles across the three league games, whilst making an impressive 14 recoveries. He has won 54.5% of his duels overall, winning 40% of his aerial duels. Diakite has completed 82% of his passes, however has only made two accurate long balls, which is just 15.4%.

The dilemma does not get made much easier when you line these stats up with Milo’s from his start against Brighton. Milosavjlevic won 60% of his duels, 50% of his aerial duels, had the same pass completion %, a 20% long ball completion rate and previously mentioned won 100% of his tackles (although that was one, compared to Diakite’s five). Diakite made more recoveries per game, but that could just be put down to in-game situations not requiring Veljko to do the same.

One main caveat when thinking of who to start is our upcoming opposition – Newcastle United. It is very well documented that Eddie Howe spent £69M on Nick Woltemade to replace the outgoing Alexander Isak – Woltemade is a giant. The big German stands at a whopping 6ft 6in – comparable to Diakite’s 6ft 1in frame and Milosavljevic’s 6ft 4in’s.

Might Veljko get the nod over Diakite in order to deal with Woltemade’s height? The Serb was dominant in the air on against Brighton, and his presence might go a long way to quieting the German giant, who scored a header on his Premier League debut. But equally, Diakite has showed no ill-effect in the air, and hasn’t done anything wrong to warrant his place being taken.

Thankfully, other than on a computer game, I am not a football manager; I do not have to make this decision. It would not surprise me at all if Diakite came in and Milo is given the same treatment that Huijsen was, but equally, if Veljko started, I wouldn’t be too shocked.

Over to you, Don Andoni.