Bournemouth defender Zabarnyi joins PSG for £57m

Paris St-Germain have signed Bournemouth defender Illia Zabarnyi in a deal worth 66m euros (£57m).

The Ukraine centre-back, who has penned a five-year deal, said he had joined “the best club in the world, with the best project”.

European champions PSG have paid an initial £54.5m plus £2.6m in performance-related add-ons.

Zabarnyi joined the Cherries in January 2023 from Dynamo Kyiv and made 86 appearances.

He played a key role in defence and was named 2023-24 Supporters’ Player of the Season.

The 22-year-old’s exit is the third major sale of a defender by Bournemouth this transfer window after Dean Huijsen joined Real Madrid for £50m and Liverpool signed Milos Kerkez in a deal worth £40m.

While the Cherries must rebuild their defence as a result, they are set to make a healthy profit on the trio.

Zabarnyi joined for a reported £24m, while Huijsen was signed from Juventus last summer for a fee of £12.6m and Kerkez cost a reported £15.5m from AZ Alkmaar.

Bournemouth expected at least one defender to be sold this summer but to lose three has been a shock, according to sources inside the club.

Each move has been difficult to turn down though, with such high fees on offer from three of the world’s biggest clubs.

The Cherries, who more than tripled the £12.8m paid to sign Huijsen from Juventus six months earlier, did not expect his £50m release clause to be seen as value for money by suitors within a year.

Real Madrid won the race but Huijsen attracted a lot of other interest – including from Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea – after a brilliant season at Vitality Stadium.

Diakite fills one of the gaps at centre-back and £14.4m Frenchman Adrien Truffert has been signed to fill the Kerkez hole – and a further central defender is being sought.

Meanwhile, goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic has replaced Kepa Arrizabalaga – who opted to join Arsenal from Chelsea instead of Bournemouth – while they also signed teenage forward Eli Junior Kroupi in February.