THE Cherries are finalising a deal to bring in RB Leipzig’s club doctor Robert Percy Marshall, but are wary over visas and language tests after Inigo Perez was unable to join the club, the Daily Echo understands.
As reported by the Mirror, AFC Bournemouth are finalising the ‘impressive’ signing of the doctor to replace departing performance director Jay Mellette, subject to a language exam and a successful visa application.
But the Daily Echo understands there is still some way to go to bring in Marshall with that test and application, with the club cautious after their experience with Perez.
The now-Rayo Vallecano boss was due to join Andoni Iraola in Dorset when the Basque boss first arrived, having been Iraola’s assistant manager at the Madrid club.
But, as Perez had only had one year’s experience as a coach in the top flight in Spain, he was denied his work permit and was unable to join Iraola at the Cherries.
So, after that experience, the club are cautious about the Marshall deal, although they are hopeful of getting it done to bring him to Dorset.
The doctor worked with Justin Kluivert and Tyler Adams at RB Leipzig, where he worked for seven years.
The German previously worked at Hamburger SV, where he was academy medical director from April 2012 to July 2018, with a stint as club doctor between August 2015 and August 2017.
According to loop.frontiersin.org, Marshall is a specialist in physical and rehabilitative medicine, with a master’s degree in micronutrient therapy and regulatory medicine.
He is also a co-founder of the Institute for Sports and Exercise Medicine at the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf.
Marshall has penned ‘many’ scientific publications as a visiting scientist at the Faculty of Experimental Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine at the University Hospital Halle (Saale).
Departing performance director Jay Mellette is set to return to the Vegas Golden Knights ice hockey team after two years with the Cherries, it is understood. The NHL team is also owned by Bill Foley.
