It is good to hear that the Cherries are being linked with exciting Premier League young talent. Among those in the shop window at the moment is Dwight Gayle who can play as a striker or out wide. His record at Palace has been rejuvenated since Alan Pardew has been back at the club and there are reports that AFCB might even have made a £6m bid for the player. If the Cherries have made such an offer it will have been the highest in the club's history and while it would demonstrate that AFCB are not just chasing players that once graced the Premier League but are past their best, it is important that the club does not financially cripple itself before it's Premier League journey has begun.
AFCB also want players who are keen to come to Dean Court and have a willingness to work hard and do well without ripping the wage structure apart. The two challenges of big transfer fees and affordable wages have clearly made the summer transfers more hazardous than what would be ideal, but AFCB are playing with the big boys now and compromise tends to favour those that are in the driving seat over deals. In this case it seems that Dwight might be wanted by other clubs as well and Palace are keen to drive the price upwards towards £10 million if recent reports are correct, perhaps in retaliation for Allan Pardew's enquiry for Callum Wilson being rebuffed.
Given that the Cherries have already signed Josh King and Christian Atsu, Eddie Howe may feel he has time to look elsewhere for another forward if Gayle is too much. Eddie seems to like dual-purpose strikers that can also switch to be wingers though and Gayle fitted that role well. AFCB have been exceedingly good at landing the right kind of players to improve the squad although getting it wrong now is going to be more costly. It might be time to pull out of this one and not get burned, but we have seen AFCB continue to up bids when they are really keen on a player they want. Somehow I don't expect Dwight Gayle to be at Palace at the end of this season, but he might at a club that has a bigger budget than the Cherries are willing to spend on him with Newcastle Utd said to be waiting in the wings.
One player who is making a move this summer is former Cherry Danny Ings and I have a look at his Anfield move on Premier Talk.
This is a fan’s personal view of AFC Bournemouth from the outside looking in. It reports on the daily official activities reported by the club and comments made by individual fans on social media and fanbase websites. Life as an AFCB fan is never dull. As a life-long supporter of the Cherries, it is the friendliness of the staff, fans and my enthusiasm for the club that inspired me to write this blog.
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