AFC Bournemouth loanee Matias Vina has revealed he sought advice from Liverpool hero Luis Suarez before leaving Roma. The Cherries secured his six-month transfer this January.
The Dean Court outfit sought Vina’s services to strengthen the defence available for Gary O’Neil on the south coast. Bournemouth’s terms with Roma for the left-back also include the option to make his move permanent. But he faced challenges with the possible switch.
Vina is still getting to grips with the English language following a career spent in his native Uruguay, Brazil and Italy. The 25-year-old now leans on Marcos Senesi for support with the Argentine acting as his translator. But it was advice from Suarez that helped seal the move.
Vina sought out Suarez to discuss his potential transfer to Bournemouth and to gauge the Liverpool hero’s opinion. The striker spent three years at Anfield from 2011 to 2014 before joining Barcelona. And he only had positive things to stay about his Premier League career.
“Luis told me that obviously you have to adapt in terms of the language and the intensity of the league,” Vina told Sky Sports. “But that once you have adapted, it is the best there is, that it is a beautiful league and that I would enjoy it a lot.”
Liverpool hero Suarez helped Bournemouth secure Vina’s transfer from Roma
Vina and Suarez built a relationship during the new Bournemouth star and Liverpool hero’s careers in the Uruguay team. They have featured 18 times together for their country since November 2019. They also briefly faced Portugal together at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
O’Neil has only afforded Vina a brief role at Dean Court while he gets to grips with the new division. The 28-cap left-back made his Premier League debut as an 81st minute substitute at Brighton & Hove Albion last Saturday. He replaced Jaidon Anthony as a wide midfielder.
Suarez can offer Vina sound advice on the Premier League following 110 appearances with Liverpool. The 137-cap striker also scored 69 goals and assisted a further 39 goals between a £22.5m switch from Ajax in January 2011 and joining FC Barcelona for £75m in July 2014.
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