One morning at Bournemouth’s training ground, there was a sudden bang. Sparks flew and those present jolted upright in surprise. Fireworks had been set off as the squad warmed up on the pitches.
This was Jefferson Lerma’s latest attempt to cause chaos and outdo his team-mates. On other occasions, he threw eggs and flour as they walked out for training, retaliation for practical jokes played on him.
Advertisement
Lerma, says his former team-mate Steve Cook, is “a Colombian madman”. That description, though, is one of endearment.
“I loved him,” Cook, now at Queens Park Rangers, tells The Athletic. “Jeff was a top guy. When he first joined his English was very limited but he put his personality onto the pitch. He was a great player — a master of the dark arts.”
Steve Cook with Jefferson Lerma in 2020 (Marc Atkins via Getty Images)Lerma became a mainstay in the Bournemouth side and won the club’s player of the year award last season. Off the pitch, he became a key part of the group and was, as Cook says, “a big character”.
“He’d do random stuff to get people going,” says Cook, “like stealing the team buggy and driving round the training ground, beeping the horn. He was trying to make people not feel comfortable around him (in a joking way). He has good energy, doesn’t take life too seriously and is always up for a laugh and a joke.”
The reaction of Bournemouth’s supporters when they heard 28-year-old Lerma was leaving for Crystal Palace in the summer on a free transfer after his contract expired revealed how highly they rated him.
They expressed disappointment but also gratitude for his 184 appearances over four years. He had become a fan favourite after joining from Spanish side Levante for £25million ($30.6m) in 2018 — Bournemouth’s record signing.
Palace had identified the midfielder as one of their primary targets well before the summer and by mid-April they were increasingly confident they could get him, although talks could not officially begin until the transfer window opened.
I want to thank everyone for giving me this warm welcome to the club. I feel excited and honored to be part of this great family. @cpfc#premierleague #cpfc #newchallenge pic.twitter.com/EjywCnunUr
— Jefferson Lerma (@jeffersonlerma) June 8, 2023Primarily a No 6, sitting in front of the defence and protecting the back line with his combative, aggressive nature, Lerma is just as capable of playing in a more advanced role, having flourished when used as a No 8 in the 2021-22 season.
Advertisement
Once described by then-manager Scott Parker as a “street fighter”, Lerma has since shown the necessary composure to go alongside his reputation for tough-tackling aggression — but he has lost none of his desire to win the ball.
His idol is Xabi Alonso, whom he studied closely when playing in Spain, and he watches YouTube videos of the former Liverpool midfielder. Spanish is Lerma’s first language, though he took English lessons at Bournemouth.
“He probably knows more English than everyone thinks,” says Cook. “He’s quite clever and maybe if he’s getting told off he might (pretend to) not understand.”
Expectations of Lerma may have been heightened among Palace fans by the impression Cheick Doucoure made after arriving from Lens last summer.
The pair are similar in that they can play deeper or slightly more advanced, they are revered by supporters, and they had a tendency to pick up yellow cards but have rectified that flaw.
Doucoure makes a robust tackle on Tottenham Hotspur’s Richarlison last season (Warren Little via Getty Images)There were 17 bookings for Lerma in his first 42 Premier League appearances — including 10 from the first 15 games. He now has 30 from 104 games, a noticeable slow-down.
Among those who have played more than 100 Premier League games, that rate makes Lerma the division’s third-most booked player relative to the number of games since his debut, with 0.29 per game. Ahead of him are Conor Gallagher (31 from 103 at 0.30 per game) and Luke Shaw (43 from 138 at 0.31 per game). For comparison, Doucoure has 10 bookings from 38 games (0.26 per game).
GO DEEPER
The Lerma paradox - after 42 bookings in four years are Bournemouth better with or without midfield enforcer?
Yet there are very few red cards — just one in his three top-flight seasons, showing an element of restraint.
In 2019, Lerma’s then-manager Eddie Howe said: “You don’t want to take that away, a lot of the attributes that he shows, but it’s trying to educate him and show him a different way at times will be key. We want to keep him on the pitch for as long as we can.”
Advertisement
“His reputation got the better of him,” says Cook. “He probably deserved a few but a lot were because he was Jefferson Lerma. He’s tenacious, likes a tackle, but can play the game with little tricks. He can rile players up. He plays the game on the edge. If he changed he wouldn’t be the same player, but he was targeted by referees.”
Lerma getting to know a referee during pre-season in the U.S. (Michael Reaves via Getty Images)When he turned up for his first day of training at Palace there might have been a few jokes about an incident a few months earlier. In the first half of Palace’s 2-0 win over his Bournemouth side, Joachim Andersen appeared to punch Lerma in the face. The Colombian suffered a broken nose, but no action was taken against the Palace centre-back.
In some ways, it was in keeping with a sense of injustice that brewed throughout his Bournemouth career, with the club believing he was unfairly treated by the officials and the FA.
There were no such concerns when he made his debut for Palace during a 1-0 win over Sheffield United on the opening day of this season. “He was outstanding,” Roy Hodgson said. “He was everywhere, all over the field, his defensive work was excellent and he was very good going forward.”
We can analyse different elements of his game using data provided by smarterscout, which gives players’ games a series of ratings from zero to 99 relating to either how often a player performs a given stylistic action or how effective they are at it compared with others playing in their position. His numbers across the past two seasons reveal his positional flexibility and what is lost and gained when his role changes.
The first chart shows that Lerma had a very high link-up play volume when he played as a No 8 in Bournemouth’s 2021-22 promotion season, with a rating of 83. That means many of his passes were simple, recycling possession quickly, rather than long, searching balls.
The chart for last season, however, was markedly lower (16 out of 99), partly because he was more defensive a year later — revealing what is lost if he is in that deeper No 6 role.
Advertisement
His defending impact — how often he forces turnovers or limits ball progression — is notably more impressive when playing as a No 8 (79) than as a No 6 (36), implying he was cutting out attacks higher up the pitch.
Last season he played 2,771 minutes — the most of any Bournemouth player. During that time his ‘true tackles’ — the number of tackles he made plus fouls committed and challenges lost — per 1,000 opponent touches was the 67th lowest out of 69 central/defensive midfielders who played 900 minutes. Those numbers suggest he is more inclined more to cut out space for passes and make interceptions.
Before the 1-0 defeat by Arsenal, Hodgson said: “He’s a very dynamic player. Whenever he plays, he changes the energy levels — like Doucoure did when he came. It’s enabled us to play with two players in the ‘Doucoure position’ and that has helped us in many ways. It frees up one or two more of the attacking players and, in particular, gives us extra cover, which you sometimes need in the defensive area when you lose the ball.”
Although he played as a No 6 alongside Doucoure, which is his primary role, in the second half of that match, he latched onto Andersen’s long pass, headed it over the defender and raced towards goal from his own header to create an opening. He perhaps delayed his pass slightly too long, which led to him being closed down as he looked to square the ball to Eberechi Eze, but it was a demonstration of what he can offer in attack.
But the opening games this season have seen him operate predominantly in that defensive-minded role, being vocal on the pitch and imposing himself. The departure of Cheikhou Kouyate and James McArthur’s injury problems created a void on Palace’s left side, but Lerma has made his presence felt. Tyrick Mitchell, in particular, has benefited from the extra support.
GO DEEPER
Palace are going in the right direction - but what about the left?
Cook sums up what Lerma brings: “Being in a couple of relegation battles, then getting relegated and promoted is only going to benefit him. He has plenty of experience considering his age, he’s extremely fit and strong.”
(Top photo: Mike Hewitt via Getty Images)
ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57k3Fram9oZXxzfJFsZmlxX2aBcLbEn52eqqOku264xKukmmWglrmir8Rmp6irmam2sLqO