Bournemouth, Feb 7 (IANS) AFC Bournemouth forward Justin Kluivert has been crowned the Premier League Player of the Month for January. He becomes only the second Cherries player to win the award, following Dominic Solanke in December 2023.
Kluivert maintained his impressive form this season, netting five goals and supplying two assists during a fruitful month, both for him and the team.
The Dutch international was shortlisted among an illustrious group of players which included his Cherries teammate Dean Huijsen, who also had a memorable January.
Phil Foden (Manchester City), Cody Gakpo (Liverpool), Alexander Isak (Newcastle), Jean-Philippe Mateta (Crystal Palace) and Bryan Mbeumo (Brentford) were also on the shortlist.
Kluivert played his part as Andoni Iraola’s team opened the month with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Everton at Vitality Stadium before he scored and assisted in the FA Cup victory over West Brom.
He opened his Premier League goal account for the month when his coolly-converted penalty helped the Cherries secure a 2-2 draw at Chelsea, Kluivert also hitting the post at Stamford Bridge.
Kluivert’s party piece came during the emphatic 4-1 victory over Newcastle United at St James’ Park where his stunning hat-trick led the Cherries to a famous win, his second treble in nine games.
His exploits, which included providing the assist for Milos Kerkez to complete the scoring, saw the Cherries stretch their unbeaten run to ten games and helped wreck Newcastle’s nine-match winning streak
Kluivert steered Antoine Semenyo’s cutback into the far corner for a sixth-minute opener before another composed finish on the stroke of half-time saw him cancel out Bruno Guimaraes’s equaliser.
The 25-year-old completed his treble with a spectacular drive into the far corner in added time, his stunning strike making the shortlist for the Goal of the Month for January.
Just seven days later, Kluivert starred in another attacking masterclass from Iraola’s team as they triumphed 5-0 against high-flying Nottingham Forest at Vitality Stadium.
His 11th league goal of the season gave the Cherries the lead, Kluivert taking advantage of the Forest defence retreating to beat goalkeeper Matz Sels with a rasping drive from 25 yards, his second Guinness Goal of the Month for January contender.
Kluivert then provided the ammunition for Dango Ouattara to score the first of his three goals, the Burkinabe’s towering leap seeing him convert his teammate’s precision cross.
–IANS
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