Can AFCB really find the quality needed in the Championship?

There is plenty of paper talk about AFCB plundering the Championship this summer. They have already picked up Lloyd Kelly from Bristol City and rumours are that they are tracking Connor Roberts of Swansea, as well as Kalvin Phillips and Jack Clarke of Leeds Utd and Liverpool's Harry Wilson at Derby County. But are they likely to keep finding gems like David Brooks at this level who will take to the Premier League in their first season and be a match for the very best?

Are there more gems like David Brooks
 playing their football in the Championship?

It may take a while for such players to bed in. They are having to move club and get used to the pressure of being up against well recognised names who are world-class. I suppose AFCB don't have to build a club that can challenge for the top 10 yet. By gradually adding quality which is perhaps a year or two off really setting the highest standard at AFCB, they could do enough to survive and later thrive.

However, as soon as AFCB do pick up great talent in the Championship they become immediate targets for the bigger clubs. Once tested at Premier League level these players soon come on everyones' shopping list. Eddie Howe's exceptional reputation as a manager may not be based on his recruitment team spotting these players but in Howe's own ability to keep hold of them at the club.

AFCB are entering a new phase. The older players who won promotion are moving on and they are being replaced with a younger team. Whether these players can quickly take root is going to be what AFCB's chances of staying in the Premier League is base on. It could be a big risk, but finances may have pushed AFCB to approaching their transfer strategy in this way, because the very top clubs don't discard their players to lower Premier League clubs very often and the foreign markets are still something that has not really dominated the thinking of AFCB's recruitment yet.

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The age profile of young players in the Championship is also something that attracts AFCB.The wages will be lower than bringing in the players that have already played a season or two in the Premier League so w can expect AFCB to keep plundering the Championship whenever an U21 international comes up for purchase. 

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Clyne fits the AFCB profile

AFCB have been reported to be making enquiries about the availability of Nathanial Clyne from Liverpool after a successful loan period on the south coast. For me, Clyne is the perfect player to keep making AFCB progress. He is an international who has been with one of the top six clubs and he works hard at his game.

Where does Clyne see his future?

The right-back position could well be Nathaniel's next season if he does sign on a permanent deal. While Simon Francis will be making his comeback and Adam Smith is often seen as the utility man, Clyne has a great chance of having a starting spot and perhaps vying to get his England place back. From Clyne's point of view, he knows how AFCB play now and he has a choice to make with going back to Liverpool and being the player behind Alexander-Arnold in the pecking order.

The five months that Nathaniel did have at AFCB were fairly successful. He was dropped for a couple of games before getting his place back at the end of the season, but it was perhaps important for Eddie Howe to show Clyne that he had to keep progressing if he was to keep his spot in the Bournemouth team.

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AFCB could find that other teams are also willing to pay for Clyne's services - Napoli are said to be one such club and West Ham are also interested. Still AFCB have to be in a good position after Cardiff, another interested team last January, have been relegated and Clyne knows he can get game time at AFCB. The defining matter might be the price. While suggested figures of £15m have been murmured, AFCB would be buying an international player with some great experience and that makes him a superb buy in my opinion. He can fit in from game one and you can't say that about every purchase you make in the summer window.

An alternative option is Connor Roberts as Swansea City whom AFCB have been linked with on Wales online. AFCB are not afraid of dropping down to the Championship for players, but not all of them have been as successful as David Books.