AFCB checking Italian-based players de Guzman and El Shaaraway

The Football Italia site reports that Jonathan de Guzman is considering undergoing surgery and terminating his Napoli contract. The midfielder has been linked since last summer with the Cherries but if the Dutch international does go under the knife he is unlikely to be wanted by AFCB who need to bolster their squad for the Premier League run-in.

The Cherries have already added Juan Iturbe to their midfield ranks but Dan Gosling and Andrew Surman were the last recruits to the central midfield area. Much of the transfer talk has been on defenders and forwards, although the club has not made known any transfer targets.

The Football Italia site also reports that AFCB is keen to see if it can beat AS Roma to the signing of AC Milan player  Stephan El Shaaraway. The striker is an Italian U21 player and has been on loan at Monaco who had first option to buy him after 25 games, but they dropped him after he played 24 times. A similar loan deal to the Juan Iturbe deal could see the €14m rated player come to the Premier League on loan.

Does Nolan's availability make him good cover for Arter?

Kevin Nolan, 33, has the kind of Premier League experience that should make him a top target for any of the new Premier League sides. Having been recently released by West Ham he has been linked with the Cherries as well as Sunderland as well as Championship sides, QPR and Burnley. As a busy industrious player in midfield he would give AFCB more aggression and physicality, but is that the way the Cherries need to go to play teams off the park?

I'm not so sure it is what Eddie Howe will opt for when it comes to an emergency loan signing. While there are attributes that make Kevin Nolan a good signing, is he better than our own Harry Arter? I'd venture perhaps not, but at this moment Arter is still injured and the emergency loan period would cover Arter's continued absence. In that sense you can see why Nolan would be of value. Nolan may have been out of favour with Slaven Bilic at West Ham but he still made 29 appearances last season and is perhaps good for at least another season at the top level.

With two season-long loan signings available to Howe during a season, from what I understand, he will have to consider his choices carefully on who to bring to Dean Court. From transfer deadline day rumours it was a striker that he was most keen to add to the squad, but the failure of attracting Jonathan de Guzman still puts strong emphasis on the likelihood that a central midfielder would be a pleasing addition to the squad. Some bookies have Nolan at 6/4 to join the Cherries - perhaps AFCB will be tempted? But other options may also be available now, with the window only just having opened.

We'll watch with a keen eye on whether any loan targets come to fruition. What's your feeling on Kevin Nolan - a good potential signing for the Cherries to cover for Arter?

Who do Cherries need on deadline day?

The fans always want one more signing and while the injuries have complicated the final moments of the transfer window for Eddie Howe it is likely that there will be more than one addition to the squad come 6pm tonight. All the talk though has been about strikers and midfielders coming to AFCB.

Things certainly started moving last night. Crystal Palace have been rather keen to hold on to their players and even though they have strengthened. Alan Pardew looks set to keep Dwight Gayle but Glenn Murray has been allowed to talk to AFCB for some £4 million. As long as personal terms and the medical is passed Murray should be revealed as a Cherries player later today.

One signing that has been quite a tussle between the Cherries, Everton, Hamburg and Sunderland is Napoli's midfielder Jonathan De Guzman, who is set for a season loan move to AFCB with the option to buy him next season, but the midfielder was said to go missing yesterday when he was supposed to catch a plane for his medical at Dean Court. Apparently he wanted more time to think over the move.I expect we'll hear more on this later today.

But what other signings might AFCB make today - Charlie Austin, Lewis Grabban?

Eddie may have his eyes on more targets yet.

The need for another striker of note is perhaps the tantalising signing that may just be out of reach if the left defensive side of the team is now more important to reinforce. Man Utd were suddenly made favourites to land QPR's Charlie Austin over the weekend, but the connection with the Cherries has never really died down despite Eddie Howe saying it's is not possible for the club to bring him to the Vitality stadium. Such a statement from the manager was so strong that I feel those that have stacked their money on it happening may well be disappointed by the end of this evening - but I'd love to be proved wrong. The Daily Mirror seems to have the Austin move nailed on for AFCB.

Do you want him back? AFCB fans' conscience might be tested if Afobe 

goes to Norwich and Grabban is surplus to needs in East Anglia.

More likely perhaps is the return of Lewis Grabban, despite his foolish attempts to force a deal through last week which only ended in him being suspended. Whether Alex Neil would want rid of the striker now is intriguing, because of the baggage now surrounding Lewis Grabban - is he really wanted at Carrow Road anymore? His previous history may not make him among the most popular returnees if Eddie Howe decides to go back in for him. Norwich could play hard ball as well just to remind Lewis that he must honour his contract with the Canaries. Any deal is perhaps dependent on Wolves, who have repeatedly turned down Norwich's target - Benik Afobe. Unless the Afobe is allowed to talk to Norwich, there could be no move for Grabban.

It is a tough market out there and deals are seldom simple. So it is at this time that Eddie Howe may also be thinking if he can attract an extra player by giving a club a player or two in return to secure a new signing. That could mean loan moves for players like Stanislas, MacDonald, Camp, Rantie (a loan target for Reading, says the Bournemouth Echo) or Kermorgant. It should be an exciting day and if no one comes in but AFCB keep their current squad I will not be too disappointed with that.

If AFCB can put funds into the Development squad to bring on home-grown players for next season I would be even prouder of the club. But the financial implications of falling out of the Premier League are now so huge that if it means the club needs to sign more players in this window then so be it.


Out today - Cherry Chimes' September Newsletter brings you the best stories on the blog and the thoughts behind them from last month, plus a special Newsletter article entitled Tactical battles have to be won.

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Is Jonathan De Guzman perfect for Cherries?

Midfielder Jonathan De Guzman is expected to make up his mind this week on whether to join the Cherries or the Black Cats if Sunderland in the Premier League. The player is currently at Napoli and has wanted a return to the Premier League where he has played for Swansea City on loan between 2012-14, while a Villerreal player. Now Eddie Howe is looking to make him a playmaker to improve AFCB's fortunes this season.

The area of central midfield has been difficult to cover while Harry Arter has been out. We have seen performances there by Dan Gosling and Eunan O'Kane that have worked reasonably well with Andrew Surman but De Guzman would add much more power going forward. He is also another player that is good from deadball situations, and free kicks in and around the box are likely to fall to the Cherries this season with the kind of pace that is already in the team.

Jonathan's international career is also well established having made 14 appearances for Holland even though he has not scored for his country yet in a full international. I'm excited by the prospect of another international player perhaps coming to Dean Court and the central midfield area is an area where I'd like to see more strength added to the team, so let's look out to see if Jonathan comes in or not this week.