Are Cherries about to sign Irish striker?

Preston North End have reported that a Premier League club has come in for their striker Callum Robinson. The Republic of Ireland striker has been given leave to talk to the club that is interested in him having left the Irish training camp.

Will Dean Court see another Irishman join AFCB this summer?

Whether Bournemouth are the club in question is by no means certain, as Aston Villa are also said to be keen on the player, according to the Lancashire Live. But at 24 Robinson would fit the sort of profile that AFCB have been linked with in recent seasons. He has played for England U16,17,19 and 20s and Robinson scored 12 goals for Preston North End in the Championship last season, in only 27 appearances.

It would appear that there is room at the Cherries for another striker to be added to the team, especially as Jermain Defoe is still on loan at Rangers. While Sam Surridge has shown that he is perhaps close to contributing for the first team on a more regular basis, Surridge could be one player who might still benefit from a loan in the Championship first.

I don't see Lys Mousset moving on unless a club comes in with a good valuation for him this summer as AFCB have spent a lot of time with him trying to get him closer to being a more regular Premier League player.

Advertisement

Coastal Garden Buildings

The decisions Eddie Howe and the recruitment team are making now are probably the biggest calls the club has made in the last five years. It is more difficult now and the competition for players is seeing AFCB go head to head with the newly promoted teams of Aston Villa and Sheffield United, as well as Wolves, for Kalvin Philips of Leeds as well. The challenge now is that other clubs have seen how AFCB operate and what they have done to stay in the Premier League, and they see similar options could work for them.

In other news, Josh King is changing his squad number to number 7 which was Marc Pugh's number.

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.

Online-Bookies.org.uk

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. 

Squawka Fans' view on Champions League Final

Cherry Chimes Newsletter - out tomorrow!
Cherry Chimes' June Newsletter brings you the best stories on the blog and the thoughts behind them from last month. It's out tomorrow, with special story - Do AFCB need to worry about players leaving?
To sign up for the newsletter just complete the form below - like all good things it's free!

Email Address 

First Name

Last Name

Email Format

• html
• text

Will AFCB come calling on Leeds' midfielder?

Leeds United fans must be feeling pretty sick at the moment. They have been dumped back in the Championship for another year and now face the prospect of seeing some of their best players being picked off by the likes of AFCB, who are said to be interest in their midfielder Kalvin Phillips.

Eddie Howe may make more raids on Championship players.

Having seen Lewis Cook already leave for Bournemouth in the past, it would give the impression that Leeds have become a bit of a feeder club for teams like AFCB, who can pick off their young talent with their Premier League funds almost at will. Eddie Howe has made a success of bringing in young Championship players and making them into Premier League starters. The signings are never guaranteed to work, but Howe is set on keeping much of his team British as he starts to replace the older stock that initially got the club promoted to the Premier League.

Phillips has been a major player for Leeds in 2018/19 and is known as a robust defensive midfielder. Bournemouth perhaps need more cover in that area when the likes of Jefferson Lerma are unable to play every game of the season and another enforcer option is certainly going to make AFCB stronger in the middle of the park.

Advertisement

Coastal Garden Buildings

Bournemouth are scoring enough goals - the best of those outside the top six, but they are letting far too may in. It's time to stop the supply of passes to the opposition attackers. If that means signing players that are not only young but British, and are available for under £15m, compared to prices of double that on the continent, clubs like Leeds Utd have to be worried. It's not just the very top clubs that are able to strip away Championship teams' best talent, as these players desperate to play in the Premier League.