Players and cash deal from Newcastle Utd likely to be favourable to AFCB

The rumours are that Newcastle United are willing to offer Matt Ritchie and Dwight Gayle as well as some cash to meet the asking price for Callum Wilson. I see no way that Callum is going to be content playing Championship football, and with more players expected to leaving Dean Court in the next few weeks, numbers could be a problem for Jason Tindall if he can't get players in quickly.

Callum Wilson is on Newcastle Utd's target list

Steve Bruce has played a clever card in offering players to try and get Bournemouth to release their England striker. It is a tough choice to say no with the promise of Dwight Gayle, who we know is a proven golascorer in the Championship. Matt Ritchie would also be a very favourbale return player for the Cherries, even if he probably doesn't quite have such a big impact on games as he used to.

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A lot may depend on what other offers are being made for Calum Wilson with the likes of West Ham and Spurs said to be interested. It looks like Bournemouth will be a much changed team at the start of next season, despite JT saying it is not a fire sale. That doesn't have to be a bad thing, if the right players come in. It could also be better for the dressing room, if the likes of King and Wilson move on rather than be disgruntled as we saw with Ryan Fraser.

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Whether Bournemouth would get enough games from Matt Ritchie is one thought that JT has to consider and would Gayle work best with Dominic Solanke, Sam Surridge or another striker? Things are going to freshen up, but JT will have to decide if he wants former Premier League players or more youthful players from lower down in the leagues. While the money will be coming in for Aké and Ramsdale, there is no sign that Bournemouth are in a rush to go spending.

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If Tindall does take the Newcastle offer, though, does it send a message to others in the dressing room that they should kick their heels in and ask for a transfer? Who would be a football manage? JT is getting examined in every respect in the transfer market, and he's hardly had his feet under the desk. I get the feeling that things are only going to get busier at AFCB as well.

Previous post in Cherry Chimes - Sheffield Utd's bid for Ramsdale accepted - so what are AFCB doing?

In other news, Simon Francis (324 appearances) and Andrew Surman (226 appearances) have left the club as their contracts have not been renewed.

Bournemouth caught in a Gayle until Smith and Gozza salvage a point 2-2

Match Report

AFCB 2 v 2 Newcastle Utd

24 February 2018

Attendance: 10,808

Bournemouth take on Newcastle at a cold Dean Court.

Adam Smith and Dan Gosling saved Bournemouth's blushes on a day that was cold and the football was stone-cold poor from a Bournemouth point of view. Much of the predicament Bournemouth found themselves in during this game was of their own making. Newcastle did not exactly blow the Cherries away, but the Cherries had no idea how to stop crosses or defend with any semblance of composure. Matt Ritchie was given free reign to raid down the right before a shambles at the near post allowed Dwight Gayle the time to back heel his first goal in with apparent Gayle's second, just before half time, was well created and saw the ball slip under Begovic to leave Gayle with a free invitation to score again.  A 2-2 draw in the end was a lucky escape for Howe's men who left it until the last 10 minutes to play with the swagger that Bournemouth fans want to see for 90 minutes. 

Bournemouth look to keep their home form going well with a fourth win in a row.

It was good to see Jermain Defoe back on the bench while Josh King was given a start, but there was not a wholesale change from the Huddersfield defeat and Harry Arter  and Jordan Ibe were not in the squad.

Dwight Gayle would be a real problem for the Cherries.

There are more pictures on Match Day Gallery. You can also get a flavour of the ups and downs of the game by seeing my video diary on Chimes to Camera. 

The game started with some good early play from Josh King and some strong tackling by Steve Cook as both sides had a share of possession. Dan Gosling was getting on the ball and had a good opportunity to open the scoring, but put his header from 12 yards out high and wide.

Stanislas whipped a good low cross in but it was too far away from Wilson to get to. This was followed by another Bournemouth attack with Stanislas shooting wide on seven minutes. Stanislas then won a free kick and took it himself, before Wilson had a shot on the turn saved. 

Daniels had to block a shot from Perez, before Kenedy put a volley wide. Kenedy had another chance from a free kick, but shot over on 14 minutes. 

Matt Ritchie had been quiet to this point but he soon grabbed a chance to run down the right unnoticed and slipped in behind Bournemouth's defence having been spotted by Johnjo Shelvey. The cross from Ritchie should have been cleared but was left Dwight Gayle with the ball and his back to goal just three yards out! The play seemed to be in slow motion as Gayle had an age to check his position and back heel the ball across the line for the first goal on 17 minutes - 0-1 to Newcastle!

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Ritchie almost benefited from a mistake by Steve Cook but shot wide. A Bournemouth corner led to a well hit but rising drive by Stanislas.

Bournemouth were not in control of the game and Wilson was hardly involved and when he did come back to tackle he caught Kennedy and committed a foul. After 35 minutes Wilson went down in the box after a challenge from Dummett, but it was no foul for referee Roger East.

The chances had not dried up but they were falling to the wrong person I guess with Gosling again putting a cross from Daniels over. Bournemouth were seeing the ball turnover far too easily.

While Bournemouth tried to force the pace, all they ended up in doing was giving the ball away. A Newcastle corner from a Kenedy deflected shot soon had Bournemouth in further trouble. The ball came out Dummett who crossed and Pedro somehow squeezed the ball under Begovic  from beyond the far post to leave Gayle with a tap in for 0-2. Half time was a relief.

Ritchie was happy at half time.

Newcastle deserved their lead.

Adam Smith comes on to get Bournemouth into the game.

Second half

Bournemouth subbed Charlie Daniels and Adam Smith came on. Lewis Cook was still having difficulty in making passes but Francis was showing improvement.

Natahan Aké was booked for a foul on Gayle on 53 minutes. Gosling fouled Ritchie a few minutes later but escaped punishment. 

Bournemouth were not making much progress and even with a corner and a header wide from Nathan Aké it was hard to imagine where a goal might come from. Lys Mousset, on 64 minutes, then replaced Ryan Fraser who had been on the end of a heavy challenge from Shelvey in the first half. Christian Atsu then came on to replace Kenedy.

It was a scrappy second half up to this point and it was helpful at least that Newcastle were also playing poorly. Newcastle had a free kick to extend their lead, but it hit the wall and the follow up from Pérez went over.

Bournemouth subbed Wilson and brought on Jermain Defoe on 72 minutes. He immediately made an impact shooting and seeing his deflected shot hit the side netting for a Bournemouth corner.

Lys Mousset almost crafted a goal cutting it back for Steve Cook to head but the keeper, Dubravka, managed to keep it out while injuring himself on the post and Johnjo Shelvey.

There was a delay over another corner as Newcastle subbed Gayle and brought on Hayden. The delay worked well for Newcastle who had a break on. Perez shot down the left and found Atsu who passed on to Shelvey and with the goal gaping, he amazingly shot wide from a few yards out! Aké had done his best to put Shelvey off.

That's when the game changed. King and Lewis Cook worked well before Lewis Cook back heeled it to Adam Smith, who picked the ball up just inside the box on the left and drilled a shot that flew in off the underside of the bar to make it 1-2! Bournemouth were back in it with 10 minutes to go.

Yedlin was given a yellow for fouling King. Bournemouth were applying the pressure. All Nwcastle could do was make another sub as Ritchie was replaced by Manquillo on 84 minutes. Diame made a bad foul on Lys Mousset and was booked. It was all Bournemouth now.

Stanislas took the free kick and got it over the wall but Dubravka held on to the ball well. The ball was then set up by Francis who crossed from the right to find King who controlled it well and played it wide on the left to Aké, and his pass fell to Gosling who smashed in the equaliser on 89 minutes! It was another Bournemouth recovery act.

Five minutes of added time saw Lys Mousset do well with a low cross that was kept out by Dubravka at his near post. Bournemouth won a couple of late corners, but could not find the winner and had to settle for 2-2.

Eddie congratulates Steve Cook.

Summary

Bournemouth were lucky. This was a poor performance again by the Cherries and it is quite unbelievable that there was no spark and energy about the first half performance. There was nothing about Bournemouth that looked composed or cohesive until Adam Smith started running at defenders in the second half. His goal was a lifeline and it stimulated more from Josh King and Dan Gosling as Bournemouth came forward. The cavalry charge is well and good for Bournemouth at Dean Court, but they should not have been playing poorly enough to be 0-2 down in the first place. There is no doubt this is a good point, but why oh why were Bournemouth such a shambles for most of this game? It was as if the long break didn't do them any favours at all.

AFCB Line up

AFCB Subs: Boroc, Simpson, A Smith, Surman, Pugh, Mousset, Defoe.

AFCB Ratings
Begovic 4, Francis 6, S Cook 5, Aké 6, Daniels 4, A Smith 8, Stanislas 5, L Cook 5, Gosling 7,
Fraser 6, Mousset 6, King 7, Wilson 5

Cherry Chimes' MoM: Adam Smith


Referee Rating Roger East: 4/10 Ryan Fraser is probably still asking why he was not awarded a penalty.

Newcastle Utd

Dubravka, Yedlin, Lascelles, Lejeune. Dummett, Ritchie (Manquillo 84), Shelvey, Diamé,
Kenedy (Atsu 64), Pérez, Gayle (Hayden 78)

Newcstle Utd Subs
Darlow, Clark, Manquillo, Merino, Atsu, Hayden, Joselu

Bournemouth will be pleased to have grabbed a point from this one. 

Cherry Chimes T-Shirt Competition
Well done to @mchubble30 and @mrbert71 who both win a Cherry Chimes' T-shirt with Chris guessing the scorer (Adam Smith) and Dave picking the right score of 2-2.

We're off to Palace - but what striker will Pardew play?

Selhurst Park has always been a ground that I thought would be great to go and visit as it is only a short hop down the road from where I now live, but past visits have always been to see Palace play Liverpool in FA Cup games. Now it is the turn of the Cherries in the league and I think a Tuesday night game will be quite special under the lights in this famous ground.

Palace and AFCB will do battle again tonight.

Their new signing that has made most of the headlines is Emmanuel Adebayor and while the former Tottenham striker might not know much about his new London home, he is a player that has a habit of scoring on debut. Whether Adebayor gets a start though will probably depend on what kind of shape he is in. He has not played for some team football for some time, at least not in the Premier League.

While Palace drew a blank down at Dean Court they will be expecting to improve their goal count at home and if their new Togo striker is not rushed out to play against the Cherries they will hope for better things from Puncheon, Zaha and Campbell. Their interesting striker for me though is Dwight Gale, who Pardew does not seem to sure about or at least he has not given him the games that the young forward might have expected after his previous season's goal haul. Dwight has been linked with a move away but he still remains at Selhurst Park and would have something to prove, but his fitness is also not said to be 100 per cent. I'm less worried about Marouane Chamakh who was always a bit hit an miss – more often miss for me (he's yet to score this season) and Alan Pardew seems to agree looking at his team selections. Connor Wickham is suspended for this game.

Palace have slipped to 11th in the table now and their goal menace has started to dwindle having scored 24 goals in their 23 games, four less than the Cherries. The game would see Palace almost safe this season, but a defeat for them would pull the Cherries up to within three points of the Eagles and the table would start to take on a different look for the Palace fans. I can imagine a similar game to the one that played out at Stamford Bridge if Glenn Murray is left as a late sub, and if he did score in the last few minutes to give the Cherries three points, I can imagine that Alan Pardew's post-match interview might just be one of his more uncomfortable ones yet of this season. 

The latest team news is that top scorer Yohan Cabaye is on crutches and won't be playing in this game and Joe Ledley is also a doubt for Palace. I fancy Elphick to perhaps get a start for AFCB and Wiggins may just miss this game out with all the excitement of his transfer.

Probable AFCB team (4-5-1)
Boruc (GK), Francis (CD), Elphick (CD), Cook (CD), Daniels (LD),
Ritchie (RM), Surman (CM), Gosling (CM), Arter (CM), Pugh (LM), Afobe (FW)

Subs
Federici, Smith, Distin, Iturbe, Murray, King, Grabban

Crystal Palace Home Form
WWDLL

AFCB Away Form
WWLDD 

Now AFCB take on an inform top six side - Palace

Alan Pardew has his sights set on a top six finish this season and his team sits nicely in sixth place a point ahead of Watford, their main chasers, and nine points off the leaders. Palace are playing tremendously well away from with 11 wins in their last 16 league matches. Only Arsenal have done better and of course, AFCB will play the Gunners after Palace.

Pugh, Ritchie and Gozza will be aiming for a great Boxing Day for AFCB fans.

Crystal Palace are a side that are set up to play on the counter and Yannick Bolasie, Wilfred Zaha and Bakaray Sako are the sort of players that will give any back four lacking in pace problems. Eddie Howe has also shown interest in Dwight Gayle who is another striker who can run at pace and with Jason Puncheon and Connor Wickham currently the picks that Pardew favours they are more than well supplied with top forwards.

Yet some Crystal Palace fans were still reluctant to see Glenn Murray leave the club for AFCB in the last transfer window. Now that Josh King has a problem with his hamstring it may mean that Glenn will start against his former team and that will make the game even more of a showdown on Boxing day that fans can look forward to. I can't think of a better game for Glenn to want to play in.

Palace brought Joe Ledley back into the team last match as Yohan Cabaye was injured, but it was new signing Lee Chung-Yung that broke Stoke City hearts two minutes from the end of the game last week with a stunning finish to beat Jack Butland. Lee has not found it easy to get many games for the Eagles since his move from Bolton last February, but we may see him involved on Boxing Day. Everywhere you look Palace have strong players and none more so than Scott Dann at centre half who Pardew has been touting as another player that Roy Hodgson should be looking at.

You have to go back to October to see a game when Crystal Palace failed to score away from home and that was a 1-0 defeat to Leicester City. Keeping it tight against them is going to need all AFCB's players to be ready to sprint as Palace are one team that will work just as hard as the Cherries. Believe it or not, I think the Cherries will have to play better than they did against Man Utd to win this one - but we know they can do it. UTCIAD!

Crystal Palace Away Form
WLWDW

AFCB Home Form
DLLDW

PremierTalk could not ignore Luis van Gaal's box office press conference yesterday so get yourself over to PremierTalk where you'll find - Luis has not had his Brussel sprouts just yet 

The Cherries have to turn good performances into wins

AFCB like all the other teams in the Premier League have 19 games at home and out of the six games already played of those the return of one win and two draws is something that Eddie Howe will be keen to improve upon. It doesn't matter whether it is Everton, Man Utd or Aston Villa on the other side of the pitch there has to come a time when the wins at Dean Court start to help the team to push back up the table. Having had a good result away against Swansea, it is vital that the team now follows that up.

AFCB aren't just looking for a performance, they need points now.

So far AFCB have only managed to get points in consecutive games when they played West Ham and Leicester City, so just to get another result would be a step in the right direction. The home form has not been short on performance levels but the goals have been hard to come by with only five so far and two of those were against Sunderland. The Cherries have looked positive though in all but one of their home matches when they really looked out of sorts against Spurs. The individual mistakes have hopefully dried up, but Eddie Howe knows that he has had games at Dean Court when the team should have come away with more than a point.

Picking up a point or more though against a team like Everton is no simple task. The fact that Everton will try and win the game though could be a help to the Cherries and it should be a much more toe-to-toe encounter than last time out against Newcastle. It will be a chess game though as Everton have the players to exploit the Cherries if they do over commit men forward.

There is also the mental aspect of dealing with the fact that the Cherries could make a great start but defending a lead at home has been a weakness. AFCB were ahead against Leicester Utd, Watford and Spurs, but only got two points from those games. Even more difficult to banish will be the thought of being 0-2 up against Swansea only last weekend and yet not taking all three points. Still, it is a lead that Howe will be trying to get in the first half. It is hard to know what such a success would do for the team, but there is plenty of pointers towards thinking that another home win would change opinions of what AFCB are capable of this season. 

Transfer news and gossip Finally, it is good to see Matt Butcher has a new contract with AFCB. I also see the tabloids are expecting AFCB to make a £6m bid for Crystal Palace Dwight Gayle in January that follows rumours of a similar fee for Norwich's Lewis Grabban quoted yesterday. Those hoping for Bradley Wright-Phillips making an appearance at Dean Court though appear wide of the mark, although I expect more links with MLS players to AFCB.

Report of Cherries' bid tabled for Glenn Murray

Just after 10pm this evening Sky Sports News mentioned that their sources believe that AFC Bournemouth have tabled a bid for Crystal Palace's Glenn Murray. If this is correct then Eddie Howe is certainly looking to add a bit more Premier League experience to his strike department which might be a very good thing considering that none of the other strikers at the Cherries have played a game in the Premier League yet. A bid of around £3 million has been suggested in the past to be something that Palace might consider for the former Brighton man. 

Eddie Howe had said in the week that the Premier league new boys were not able to compete with the sums being banded about for the striker's that have the experience in the top league but it may be that Crystal Palace are able to let Murray go at a more modest price having themselves brought in Bakaray Sako this week on a free transfer. The rumours that AFCB had also been linked to the former Wolves forward perhaps indicate that the pool of players that Premier League clubs are after is fairly small when it comes to experience of playing in the English leagues. Connor Wickham also joined Palace from Sunderland this week and it is possible that Dwight Gayle might also be leaving the club (but sadly not to AFCB).

Whether Glenn Murray is the best option for the Cherries is something that we may hear Eddie Howe talk about on Friday if a bid has gone in and is accepted. Glenn Murray is certainly very different to the types of striker already at AFCB and while fans are used to seeing a very settled side at Dean Court, we could see players moving in and out of the first 11 a little more often this season, depending on the opposing team and what weaknesses they are believed to have.

In addition, Harry Cornick is said to have joined Yeovil Town on a month's loan, according to Ciderspace News. 

Gradel inbound to AFCB and one or two others?

Eddie Howe was confident enough to suggest that more signings would be on their way to AFC Bournemouth before the start of the season as long as they could get the right players for the right prices. On a day when Stoke City can sign a Barcelona midfield player, it may be comforting news for Cherry fans to know that while the south coast side may not be the biggest spenders in the division at least they will attract players that will be given every opportunity to perform at their best and learn from a manager that will develop them into a team player that is going to form a competitive side.

But who are the targets? Max Gradel is my favourite pick as a colleague of mine had a talk with a journalist at L'Equipe today who said Max would more than likely be headed to the Vitality stadium. What niggles me is the pace of Harry Arter's potential return. The central midfield area is one place where Eddie Howe has not done any business yet and I'd expect that to be the area that he concentrates on in the next two weeks if he does want more players to come in. There are plenty of names out there like QPR's Junior Hoillett, Abdisalam Ibrahim of Olympiacos and Aldene Guedioura at Crystal Palace.

There is also a shortage of strikers at the Cherries in my opinion. While Wilson, Kermorgant, King and Rantie fall into that category a fifth out and out striker would be a massive bonus if AFCB can get one in. Whether Crystal Palace hold the key with Dwight Gayle and Glenn Murray is not really clear, but there has been so much talk about Palace players that something is surely going to happen there in the next few days while Liverpool are still keen to move Rickie Lambert and Fabio Borini. I know, you're still holding out for Charlie Austin - aren't you?

Still, we'll watch the transfer window eagerly in the next few days and it may mean that one or two of AFC Bournemouth players are also allowed to move on if Howe can find the right replacements, just not at any price though Eddie.

What does Eddie see in Glenn Murray?

There are several news reports led by South London Today linking AFC Bournemouth with a £3.5m bid this afternoon for Crystal Palace's experienced striker - Glenn Murray. The 31 year-old has not found regular football at Selhurst Park with form of Dwight Gayle and Marouane Chamakh. A loan spell at Reading saw him bag eight goals from 18 games last season but Murray is best known for his heroics at Brighton where he netted 53 goals in 118 appearances.

It was the 2012-13 season when Murray is remembered not only for his 30 goals in the Championship but also for that semi-final when he suffered a horrendous knee injury playing for Palace against his former Brighton club that point him out of the game for nine months. Murray still managed to return to the game and score goals for Palace in the Premier League so it was a bit of a surprise when he was loaned out to Reading last January. AFCB were said to be interested in the striker then as well but moved for Kenwyne Jones instead in the end. 

Murray might not be the most dynamic of strikers in his movement, but he knows where the net is and he has scored at just about every level of the game that he has played at. Eddie Howe is certainly looking to bring in another front man and while the likes of Rickie Lambert, Dwight Gayle, Jordan Rhodes and even Dimitri Berbatov (I know complete rubbish) have been suggested targets there is plenty of weight to the belief that Murray would play a reasonable supporting role if the Cherries suffered early injuries in their Premier League campaign. Good in the air and in and around the box, if Murray could add 10 or more goals to the Cherries tally it might mean the difference between mid-table safety and battling it out to stay up.

Is Charlie Austin the best option for the Cherries?

The long drawn out saga of where Charlie Austin is going to be headed is surely coming to a conclusion fairly soon. It probably really needs to as it is a move that is likely to be holding up other transfers. If Crystal Palace landed him then AFCB could move for Gayle or Murray. However, it's Leicester City that started the ball rolling with  a £12 million bid that was rejected and we now wait to see if the Foxes move again, or if Newcastle or West Ham come in with something like £15 million or perhaps even AFC Bournemouth? But would it be a good option for the Cherries to spend that kind of money for Charlie? For me, I would love Austin to come to AFCB I just hope that he does brilliantly if he does come and that the money is a good investment. 

Once the money has been spent it has gone for good. The prospect of recouping such large amounts of money will only materialise if AFCB can stay up and have a great season or two at the top level. Austin was the prolific goalscorer in a team that went down last season and while his record is great it will not be a season he wants to repeat from the performance point of view of QPR's ultimate fate - relegation. If AFCB signed Austin, I'd expect either Wilson or King to be among the substitutes and the instinctive way that Charlie plays on the last defender and predator in the box is perhaps a little more individual in its nature than how AFCB have been playing of late.

If AFCB are careful with their money though I believe the Rickie Lambert option would be a sensible addition. At £3 million there is already a big saving and Rickie is a natural team player who could fill the number 10 role as well if not better than Kermorgant. He may not have great pace, but he reads the game so well and is always a good assist player with vision and the ability to put the ball away when he feels that he is carrying a team up front. He'll happily take penalties and is unselfish enough to see when other players need the ball in attacking areas rather than the position that he might be in. AFCB have the speed and fire power of Wilson, King and Atsu. What they don't have is so many thinking players to ensure the right pass is made in the last third. Surman, Ritchie and Kermorgant are the main providers but I believe Lambert offers just the quality that Eddie Howe's team would thrive on.

Breaking News: The Sun on Sunday and Social Media are rife with reports that AFCB are putting together a £14 million offer for Charlie Austin.

Is Charlie Austin the right man for the Cherries to sign? Tweet me at @PeterBell and I'll post your views.

Transfer talk is hotting up for the Cherries this week

The Cherries are never out of the gossip columns at the moment with the latest players being linked to the club including Dwight Gayle and Tom Huddlestone, while calls for Dimitri Berbatov have cooled off - although I never saw that as a real possibility. The player that is hitting the headlines up north though is that of AFCB centre back Steve Cook. The ever-present Cook is a prime target for newly installed Newcastle Utd boss Steve McClaren if we are to believe Tom Barclay of The Sun, as reported on the Vitals' site.

Does Steve want to remain a Cherry? He may have a choice to make next week.

Steve Cook has been a southerner though from what I can see apart from a short loan spell at Mansfield in 2010-11. A move away from the south coast to Newcastle would not fill many young centre backs with enthusiasm having just won promotion to the Premier League with an ambitious club. Newcastle could certainly probably double his wages though and while a price has not been suggested, Cook would probably be viewed as a cheap option for Newcastle if they really have some cash to spend this summer. With Mike Ashley there though, you never know what is really going on in his mind.

The Tom Huddlestone one is an interesting one as the local paper has categorically said that it is wide of the mark, which would imply it was really a complete non-starter. Yet, the links to the ex-tottenham man have not died down and with no central midfield additions to the Cherries squad yet there is clearly room for a top player to come in. Tom was perhaps one of the better players in a weak Hull City side and he has had periods of his career when he has been knocking on the door of an England call up once again and very nearly made it into Roy Hodgson's squad for the World Cup in 2014.

Meanwhile, it is wolves fans that seem devastated that Dwight Gayle is all lined up to join the Cherries, according to Football League World. The signing of Gayle would really underline Eddie Howe's desire to attack with great pace next season and competition for striker places would be fierce indeed. The problem for Wolves is that Everton and Leicester City seem more than a little keen on landing Bakaray Sako and it is unlikely that he will stay at Molineux with his contract running out.

So could it be one in and one out next week? Time will tell, but I expect Eddie Howe to fight tooth and nail to keep Steve Cook at the club as he is seen as part of the future. If Dwight Gayle really wants to make his name though, AFC Bournemouth could be an exciting new venture for him and I get the feeling that he'll come to Dean Court.

Dwight Gayle: a price too high for the Cherries?

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.

Cherries still targeting young British-based players

With the links that AFCB have through Sean O'Driscoll at the FA with the U19s it is perhaps no surprise that Bournemouth are very interested in bringing more young English Internationals to the club. The thought of bringing in players like Luke Garbutt is refreshing and while Dwight Gayle has not yet been capped, he is another Premier League player who has many years to play, being just 25, and AFCB are not just looking at the usual players that tend to get a move at the end of a Premier League season having failed with their clubs and looking to stay in the top flight. 

I am surprised that Crystal Palace might listen to offers for Gayle but if they have other targets then the money would allow Palace to make a move for someone else. Some 12 goals in 48 appearances is not that bad in the Premier League and a price of £6m will probably tempt a few clubs.

Baily may yet get some more young England internationals joining him at AFCB.

The pace of the transfers should start to pick up now that the season has finished apart from the FA Cup. There is pressure to get players in so that they can be involved in the pre-season training camps and the competition for players has just increased with Norwich City now getting promoted.

We have also seen that Bournemouth are allegedly chasing Kieran Trippier (24) at Burnley and are said to be up against Spurs for his signature. Trippier has also played for the U21s and would be another signing that is coming into his best years. The pull of Spurs may be greater than a reunion with Eddie Howe and Jason Tindall, but we will see.

The pleasing aspect is that AFCB is being linked with players that have something to prove and are not past their sell by date. If a strong young squad can be built at Bournemouth then the potential to grow as a club will really take hold quickly.

This summer will see a lot of English young players involved in the U20s and U21s both involved in tournaments and the teams are said to have some of the best chances they have had in a long time to do well. That will include our own Baily Cargill playing for the U20s in Toulon and I'll be hoping that he impresses.

On Tuesday it was confirmed, however, that AFCB had signed Polish keeper Artur Boruc and there was talk of a second keeper, Australian Federici from Reading FC is also about to sign for the Cherries. SkySports has also linked 23-year-old Ghanaian winger Christian Atsu with a season long loan to AFCB from Chelsea. So 'British-based' players is perhaps more the way AFCB will build its squad for the Premier League.

Good luck to Shaun MacDonald who hopes to put a Welsh shirt on during the European qualifier with Belgium in 12th June.