Blackburn's Josh King - a risky signing for the Cherries?

Earlier today, Sky Sports was first to break the news that Josh King was thought to be a target for AFCB having not renewed his contract with Blackburn Rovers. The left-sided winger only made 19 appearances for rovers last season and 11 of those were from the bench. With a total of four goals for the season I suppose that you could say it could have gone better for him last season and AFCB were said to be interested in him last January.

King is an international player for Norway and having come through the Man Utd academy he certainly has pedigree but the presence of Jordan Rhodes and Rudy Gestede have limited his chance of making a bigger impression at Ewood Park. I do remember him scoring a stunning hat-trick in the FA Cup against Stoke City in February when he tore through the middle of the Stoke defence with great speed and power to take Rovers to the quarter finals.

How much of a risk though would it be for the Cherries to bring King into a 25-man Premier League squad? Frankly, I believe Eddie Howe has to take some risks and if King comes on a free transfer, financially it will be a good deal for the Cherries. Ensuring that King is over his injury problems will be key. In January he suffered a hamstring injury, he also missed the league match at Dean Court for the same reason and March he missed the sixth round tie with Liverpool with another hamstring problem. He did get back into the side as a sub for the Huddersfield game in April and Blackburn's last game of the season against Ipswich. While we know he can score against Premier League teams, Howe will need to know if he can give him enough minutes on the pitch.

A change in scenery for the 23-year-old could help his injury problems and get his career back on track. There has to be a reason why he breaks down so often and a change in training methods could help him to overcome some of his problems, but it would be a risk if the Cherries take him on. AFCB would need game time out of King and the medical could well be the most difficult thing in getting him to Dean Court. If King does come to Bournemouth though it would probably kill off any hopes of Demarai Gray coming to the club, but that would be a saving of £5+ million.