NEW GULL PROFILE

TomDiamond – @GullsSoc

Tom talks about the loan signing

CAREER SUMMARY

The announcement of Finn Tonks this Friday lunchtime, albeit with a disappointing lack of signing video, sees United’s first confirmed business in the loan market take place. With Tonks being just 19 years of age, information on his career thus far was not easy to come by, I ended up going down some Bournemouth Academy YouTube rabbit holes in which I watched their Under 18s score a 33 pass goal vs QPR, unfortunately I am unsure if Tonks was playing or not but it was an enjoyable watch nonetheless. I have, however, managed to come up with this rather brief but hopefully useful summary of Tonks’ career so far.

Having progressed through the Bournemouth youth ranks, Tonks signed his first professional deal with the Cherries in the summer of 2023, and following a successful 2023-2024 season in the Bournemouth development squad and out on loan, this month penned a new deal to keep him at the Vitality Stadium for the foreseeable future. The aforementioned loan was in fact under Gulls boss Paul Wotton at Truro City, and the eagle eyed amongst you may recall Finn lining up against the Gulls in our away fixture against Truro in April. Having experienced his first taste of senior football, Finn arrives at Plainmoor eager to play as many minutes as possible, and is no doubt ready to provide some healthy competition to Finlay Craske at RB/RWB.

HIGHLIGHTS

One video of a goal for the new lad, a drilled finish for Bournemouth.

Good morning 👋

Here's Finn Tonks' strike to get you into your #FridayFeeling 💥 pic.twitter.com/z00y7OfcVj
— AFC Bournemouth Academy (@afcb_academy) December 1, 2023

TONKS STATS

POSITION: RIGHT BACK

DATE OF BIRTH: 25TH FEBRUARY 2005 – 19 YEARS-OLD

BIRTHPLACE – BOURNEMOUTH

HEIGHT: 1.78M

PREVIOUS CLUBS: AFC BOURNEMOUTH, TRURO CITY (LOAN)

NLS 23-24 STATS: APPEARANCES 2, GOALS 5, YELLOW CARDS 0, RED CARDS 0

MOST LIKELY/LEAST LIKELY

Most Likely To

Provide attacking support down the right-hand side.
Be compared to ex-Gull and fellow Bournemouth academy player Archie Harris.
Be complimented on his fantastic surname.

Least Likely To

Impose himself physically from game one. With the majority of his experience so far being in academy football, Finn may need some time to adjust to the physical nature of the NLS.
Follow me back on Instagram.

OTHER INFO

Played alongside former Gulls loanee Archie Harris for much of his youth career.
Described himself as ‘tenacious, attacking, and energetic’ when interviewed by the club.

CONCLUSION

This feels like an excellent opportunity for Tonks to show his parent club what he is capable of in a high pressure, senior football environment. Right back was fast becoming one of the few positions left in which the Gulls did not have at least two options ready to go. With Wotton looking set to deploy a 3-5-2 formation, it now looks as if Tonks and Craske will be our two primary options to take up that position. It is worth bearing in mind that wing back is a physically demanding position, and with the National League hierarchy increasing the permitted substitutions per match from 3 to 5, it may be that we regularly see both Tonks and Craske feature on a matchday. With his attacking credentials and high energy, Tonks feels a great fit for the new look Gulls. It will be vital for him to get to grips with the physicality of the NLS quickly which will no doubt also be important if he does succeed in playing in the football league further down the line. Or can he follow in the footsteps of his fellow Cherrie Adam Smith and progress from a Torquay loan all the way to the Premier League? Time will tell.