Jefferson Lerma received distinction in English football

Recently, Jefferson Lerma's performances in England have allowed him not only to be called up by Reinaldo Rueda to the Colombia national team for the final matches of the qualifying day ahead of the 2022 World Cup, but also to win a place among the most valuable players of the last day in the Championship, England's second division tournament.

Last weekend, the Colombian steering wheel scored the highest rating in his team's most recent engagement, AFC Bournemouth, against Huddersfield Town. He scored a goal in his club's 0-3 victory and completed a very good match, being one of the most consistent players. Lerma is having a good time with his team, they are second in the leaderboard and are fighting to return to the Premier League.

The former Spanish Levante player has participated in 25 games so far this season and has recorded two assists, in addition to the goal he just scored; he has scored seven yellow cards and two red cards. In total, it is 2098 minutes that he has played and he is one of the highest performing midfielders in his club.

The Colombian joined the English team in 2018, when the club made its transfer official for a figure of 30 million euros. He made his debut on August 28 of that year, in Bournemouth's 3-0 victory over Milton Keynes Dons, for the League Cup, and scored his first goal on November 10, in his team's 2-1 fall to Newcastle United. At the end of that season in Premier, it ends up consolidating itself as the best hire of the club and starts 2019-20 by scoring a goal on February 29 against Chelsea, a match that would end up tied with two goals.

In that season, Bournemouth relegated, but the Colombian managed to be recognized as one of the best players in his squad. On September 12, 2020, he made his debut as a starter, and with goal, in the Championship against Blackburn Rovers, a match that would end 3-2 in favor of the Colombian team. It has been vital for his team in the middle of the court, both in recovery and creation work. His football adapts very well to the style of the competition and that is why he is still on the radar of the national team.

Lerma, 27, reaches the concentration of the coffee team with the motivation of having been chosen in the XI ideal of the Championship and can be a fundamental piece for the Rueda team in the face of the difficult task of achieving the qualification, first on March 24 against Bolivia and, then, on March 29 against those led by Jose Pekerman.

The Bournemouth man made his debut for the national team on November 10, 2017, in Colombia's 2-1 defeat to South Korea. He entered the 82nd minute instead of Stefan Medina. Months later, he was included by the current coach of the Venezuelan national team in the preliminary list of 35 players to compete in the 2018 Russian Football World Cup. He makes his debut against Japan, in Colombia's 2-1 defeat, and starts in every match until the team is eliminated in the round of 16 on penalties against England.

In Copa América, Lerma made his debut on June 15 against Argentina, a match that Colombia ends up winning by 2-0 and it is he who assists the second goal scored by Duván Zapata. He entered the second half in place of Juan Guillermo Cuadrado. In October 2020, he scored his first goal for the national team, in a 2-2 draw against Chile, for the Qatar 2022 Qualifiers.

Colombia faces its biggest challenge later this week. Will he get the qualification? Will Lerma be part of the starting team?

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