Cherries aim to finalise Lee Camp deal

I felt a bit sorry for Lee Camp when he was being interviewed after the win against Yeovil. While he was obviously delighted about the clean sheet and three points you could discern that he was still not sure about his future at AFCB and that can only be adding pressure on him as he looks to settle.

Lee Camp has acquitted himself well at AFC Bournemouth.

There is no doubt that the majority, if not all, AFCB fans would agree that Camp has shown that he would be a good permanent addition to the team and Eddie Howe and Jason Tindall also seem to want Camp at the club long term. At the moment though AFCB will still be waiting on a permanent managerial appointment at West Brom, but there is no news yet about who the new boss will be.

As a shot stopper it may be that Ryan Allsop turns out to be a better keeper in that respect, but at the moment the Cherries also need a keeper who has safe hands and can distribute the ball quickly and calmly while also coming for crossed and making himself imposing to opposition forwards. I like the way he stands up to the opposition and exudes great confidence. It is something that has made the Cherries defence look a lot less fragile. Camp has the experience and quickness of thought to see things that others, who have not been playing at Championship level as long, simply don't see.

If AFCB do lose out on Lee Camp it would be a big loss. The understanding and camaraderie he has with the back four is easy to see and having had his first clean sheet I am sure that he would like the opportunity to build on that at AFCB. Whether the Hawthorn's caretaker boss, Keith Downing, will make the final decision on Lee Camp's future in the next few days is unknown to all but those in the corridors at West Brom. In some ways though I feel Lee Camp's signing for AFCB in January would be as big a signing as the signing of Matt Ritchie, because good goal keepers are not so easy to find.