Is Bournemouth's current strike force strong enough for the Championship?

While I have been answering a few social media questions from bloggers about Callum Wilson's departure, it left me feeling that a replacement would be nice to have. We have seen the likes of Peterborough's Ivan Toney move to Brentford this summer, having scored 24 goals in League One, but standout candidates to replace someone like Callum are pretty thin on the ground. 

Is Surridge ready to step into Wilson's shoes? 

So do Bournemouth spend some of that cash or are they better off putting that aside for the new Canford Magna training complex and starting a new stadium fund? Maxin Demin wants a quick return to the Premier League, but it is going to be hard to achieve everything and he would need a top striker to propel the Cherries to the top two places in the Championship, or more likely two top strikers. It is asking a lot of Dominic Solanke and Sam Surridge to be the main strikers for the whole season.

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I was impressed with Jaidon Anthony even if he hadn't scored against West Ham at the weekend. He has good movement and quick feet. Bournemouth has a good track record of improving strikers, like Brett Pitman and Danny Ings, and Jaidon might be the next one off the conveyor belt at AFCB. Mikael Ndjoli was on loan at Motherwell from January but hardly played before getting injured, but he could be another player that JT calls upon if Bournemouth are not looking to spend. Jake Scrimshaw is the other striker that Bournemouth has on their U21 books, but we haven't seen him getting a run out for the first team yet.

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I'd rather see some of our young players given a go than going out to pay for overpriced strikers because other clubs think Bournemouth are cash-rich having just come down from the Premier League. Whether that leaves Bournemouth short of firepower though remains to be seen. If the club loses Josh King as expected and David Brooks, then I would expect JT to look at some striker options. Paying over the odds Is the worry.

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In other news, Bournemouth play Crystal Palace in the second round of the Carabao Cup on 15 September with the winner to play Man City away in the third round - a cup run might be difficult this season!

Everton price Cherries out of the market for left-back

Brendan Rodgers is bracing himself for a £25m bid from Everton, according to the Daily Telegraph, for left-back Kieran Tierney at Celtic, who has been a suggested target for Eddie Howe this summer. Bournemouth though will have been blown out of the water with the bid that Everton is putting together for the player.

AFCB would have to smash their transfer record to sign Kieran Tierney.

Marco Silva has to make an impression at his new club and he seems set on making the signing happen. It is not clear how much AFCB were prepared to put up for the player, but seeing as AFCB's record signing is £20m at the present, it appears that the Cherries would have to smash that kind of price to sign Tierney. This may be one transfer that is just too hot for the Cherries now that Everton are also in the shop window for the player.

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Bournemouth are still second favourites to capture the 21-year-old but their odds were slipping away on SKYBet after Everton were linked with the full-back. Whether AFCB can try and offer a player swap as part of any deal may be the only way they could take on Everton's bid for the player. But n such circumstances AFCB would have to offer something that Brendan Rodgers would be relishing to have at Celtic Park and the only carrot I can see that would excite him and fans is Jermain Defoe.

AFCB are perhaps not looking to see Defoe go out on loan, seeing as he played little football last season for the Cherries and Rangers have already made little impact in their attempts to sign the striker on loan.

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Howe seems to have accepted that recruitment at AFCB is not going to be an exact science, even if the best possible considerations are made to try and limit the risks before players are bid for. 

Meanwhile, Emerson Hyndman may still play extremely well for a team like Wigan as he did at Rangers, but if he doesn't fit in well enough to the Bournemouth way of playing it's best to see if he can enjoy his career elsewhere and perhaps get a permanent move away or acquire the kind of qualities that Howe wants at AFCB.

Hyndman was a big player for Fulham before he signed for the Cherries, so it seems hard on him that he is now trying to recover that playing career back in the Championship while Fulham are no going to be battling with AFCB in the Premier League. I wish Hyndman all the best, but I do want future signings to fair better if they come to AFCB. Can I get excited about the potential signing of David Brooks? Not really, until I see whether he is capable of making the grade. Unfortunately, it seems Hyndman has not made the grade so far.

In other news, Bournemouth striker Mikael Ndjoli could be set to join Scottish Premiership side Kilmarnock on loan.


AFCB have completed their first signing of the summer with David Brooks signing from Sheffield United.
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Is Frenchman set to leave the Cherries?

A few weeks ago it was clear that Lys Mousset was not totally happy with his lot at AFCB when he described his lack of football to the French paper L'Equipe. While these reports were played down by AFCB, the rumours that he wants a loan move have not gone away and Ligue 1 clubs in France have been put on alert it would seem.

A loan move back to France for Lys Mousset -
Spurs are also apparently interested in the former Le Harve striker.

There are not that many 20-year-olds that take the Premier League by storm and Lys Mousset may have underestimated the challenge he has been set at this moment in his career. He has only made two substitute appearances in the Premier League which is not what he might have anticipated, but he has four strikers at the club with more experience than him and with Jack Wilshere also playing in the hole in games it does not leave many opportunities for young strikers to get a go.

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The potential that Lys has was shown in his sensational goal against AC Milan in Warren Cummings Testimonial, but he hasn't managed to force his way into the match day squad very often despite making his Premier League debut against Sunderland in November when he played for 16 minutes, but it was a day when little went right for the Cherries. His nine minutes against Arsenal at the Emirates could have made him a hero as AFCB were 2-1 down but they slipped back further to let in a third in added time.

While he might not be a big miss for the Cherries considering that he has not played much, finding a replacement will need some attention unless Eddie Howe decides to promote Mikael Ndjoli or Sam Surridge to the senior squad for some experience. I still think Mousset needs to learn the English way of playing and needs more time to work with players at this level, but if he goes back to a French side on loan I would expect him to be back with AFCB in the summer to have another go at trying to make the first team for next season.

Finally, a great 0-6 win for AFCB's U21s against Gosport Borough in the Hampshire Cup puts them in the semi-finals. In addition, Max Gradel has been linked with a move away to next Saturday's opponents - Watford.

Morcambe probably fancy their chances against the Cherries

When the English Football League Cup tie came out of the hat I was not rejoicing at AFCB drawing the Shrimps. They top league two and are a fairly settled side having seen only a couple of departures this summer and their results have been eye-catching.

They have been busy recruiting as well in signing striker Rhys Turner from Oldham, Aaron Wildig on a free in midfield and striker Anton Forrester on loan from Blackburn Rovers. Jack Dunn and Kevin Ellison lead the Morcambe goal table with four and two, respectively.

It's the results that will give them confidence having turned over Rotherham Utd of the Championship already in this competition and making a strong start in their League Two campaign with home wins against Blackpool and Portsmouth as well as away points with a 0-1 win over Yeovil Town. As AFCB could not beat Pompey in pre-season I hope that Eddie Howe takes minimal risks in this game as the club needs a win.

Could it be Afobe's night to stake a place in the starting line up for future games? 

Whether players can play themselves into form or not we will quickly see as the team selected must be with a partial view to getting players up and challenging for Premier League places considering the start that the Cherries have had. Whether players such as Pugh, Stanislas, Hyndman or Mings are yet fit enough is one matter, but if Eddie wants to give some of the Development squad some action it is going to be a nervy evening. So don't be surprised if we see Mikael Ndjoli on the bench along with Corey Jordan perhaps.

I'd expect him to take some regulars not getting games up north. So we should see Federici, Eunan O'Kane, Dan Gosling, Afobe and maybe a few of the new signings such as Brad Smith, Aké, Mousset and perhaps Marc Wilson. If this kind of side can get a win though it will improve the mood at Dean Court which needs lifting now.

Lewis Cook scores as Reading hold AFCB to 1-1 draw

Match Report

Reading 1-1 AFC Bournemouth

29 July 2016

Attendance 6600 (including 552 AFCB fans)

Luminous AFCB walk out with Reading in the latest pre-season friendly.

This was an experimental game for AFCB at the Madejski that will have done no harm to the prospects of Lewis Cook or Josh King who had strong games. The deadlock was broken by Lewis Cook after a cleverly worked space on half way enabled him to race through against Al-Habsi and slide the ball home. Reading were well worth their draw though with their second half showing which was capped off by John Swift netting from substitute Craig Tanner's right wing cross. As an experiment, Eddie Howe will have learnt more about Nathan Aké and Lewis Cook, but there is still much more improvement needed in the last third of the field.

The warm up gave a hint as to the back four with Marc Pugh practising his heading alongside, Nathan Aké, Simon Francis and Charlie Daniels - Pugh fitted in at right back. Without Adam Smith there has to be a bit of change and it was quite something to see Pugh play there are still give the odd turn in his own 18 yard box! The selection of Shaun MacDonald in front of the back four could be an experiment for the Man Utd match if Eddie goes 4-1-2-3, but this would be ambitious against Mourinho's men. If Eddie thought the formation would bring lots of attacking endeavour though, he may need to tweak the personnel a bit. 

More pictures are now on Match Day Gallery.

Eddie sits on the cheap seats in front of the
dugout while Jason Tindall watches on at his side.

AFCB fans held their breath early on as a striker was injured in the first minute. I believe it was Josh King who took a sharp knock to his ankle but he got back on after a few minutes. With Daniels AFCB's best assist merchant of late, it was pleasing to see him get a cross in that Wilson met but just could not get enough on it to direct it. Reading looked most accomplished down their right side with Roy Beerens causing lots of problems. Oliver Norwood was impressive too, threading a great ball through to left winger John Swift who cut inside and unleashed a powerful shot that Boruc needed to be alert to keep out to his left.

Josh King had a solid first half on the right but he moved around the front line interchanging when he could and made one darting run up the centre before van den Berg closed the door on him. Dan Gosling went closer still forcing Al-Habsi into a save before hitting the rebound with his left foot onto the post! 

Wilson though was less fortunate in getting tackled whenever he got near the Reading penalty box. I don't think I was the only one thinking he looked a bit below his usual sharpness and was finding it difficult to make any impression on the game. That's not great for AFCB, but Wilson never doubts himself and he'll deliver I'm sure.

Reading closed the half with a bit more possession as Evans shot wide, but Lewis Cook got the breakthrough for the Cherries when some smart movement on the half way line and a pass from Nathan Aké sent him through a gap in the Reading defence, and he took his time to finish well against Al-Habsi on 37 minutes.

A young line up for the subs.

The second half began with Reading bringing on Craig Tanner for Roy Beerens on the right wing. Japp Stam will have enjoyed seeing his sub play a vital role in crossing the ball to John Swift only five minutes later, with a clear chance to equalise from six yards. While Boruc rushed at the ball it was a simple finish for Swift, as AFCB's defence had been sucked towards the cross which had gone over their heads. Pugh was maybe not close enough but, let's face it, he doesn't play right back every week.

Reading's right back Gunter departed on the hour for another Reading sub and the luckless Wilson was replaced by Lys Mousset on 67 minutes. Mousset played on the left with King moving to the centre and Gradel to the right. New signing Mikael Ndjoli made his debut by coming on for MacDonald as AFCB looked for a winner. The best hope looked like it went when Max Gradel took a free kick that went over the wall, but was at a good height for Al-Habsi to push out for a corner. Lys Mousset though linked up through the middle well with Ndjoli and Ndjoli almost continued well to grasp a late winner but Reading's defence held firm.

AFCB recover after the 90 minutes.

Summary
AFCB's passing is getting quicker and their were less mistakes in giving away possession although Boruc made one standout pass that went well into the stands. The fitness levels and thinking on the same lines was there but the invention and the penetration in the last third that was so perfectly shown by Lewis Cook just couldn't be repeated. There is more to do in the last third of the pitch. Wilson was too much of a spectator for me and Lys Mousset appears much more at home through the middle. Gosling seems to get in the scoring positions but then just can't hit the target. There are things for Eddie to ponder for sure.

AFCB

Boruc, Pugh, Francis, Ake, Daniels, MacDonald (Ndjoli 73), King, Gosling, L Cook,Gradel, Wilson (Mousset 67).

Subs: Holmes, Mousset, Buckley, Harfield, Ndjoli, Whitfield, Lee, Jordan.

AFCB Ratings

Boruc 6, Pugh 6, Francis 7, Ake 7, Daniels 6, MacDonald 6 (Ndjoli 6), King 7, Gosling 6, L Cook 8, Gradel 6, Wilson 6 (Mousset 6).

Reading
Al-Habsi, Gunter (Watson 62), Obita, McShane, Van den Berg, Norwood (Kelly 75), Evans, Williams, Swift, Beerens (Tanner 46), Rakels.

Reading Subs: Jaakkola, Cooper, Jules, Tanner, Gravenberch, Watson, Stacey, Kelly, Fosu.

Mikael Ndjoli is a huge boost for AFCB's U21s

There had been much talk about Millwall's young striker ripping up the stats book for that club's U18s and U21s but their decision not to offer him a professional contract allowed Premier League clubs to take a keener interest in him with 20 goals in 24 games. AFCB beat off competition from Arsenal and Crystal Palace and you wonder how soon he can make an impact at the Cherries.

Eddie Howe is certainly confident about the goal scoring power of this wonder kid and it is heartening to see that the Cherries are building up their U21 squad. Whether we see a progression of players moving their way through to the first team is still questionable but I think I am like many fans who would prefer to see the system working like that and young players brought though the Bournemouth way. 

While Ndjoli has already been training with the first team as well as others who are with the U21s you do wonder how many competitive games they will get. AFCB have said they are not in the FA Trophy competition and while the U21 league gave players a chance to come up against some recovering full time professionals as well as U21 players, I get the feeling that those are the days that the U21 squad really look forward to as they don't happen every day. Still the Third Development Southern league is supplemented with quite a few U21 friendly matches as well. Of course, the U21 won that league last season.

Goalkeeper Mark Travers also signed for AFCB's U21s and it is quite some crop of young keepers that AFCB is coaching now - Jordan Holmes and Patrick O'Flaherty.

AFCB should hold out for a high price on Murray

While there is plenty of cash incoming at Dean Court it does not hurt for the club to be a little wiser with any of its assets that it chooses to off load. Glenn Murray only joined the club last September for some £4m and he has shown that he can still score goals against top teams like Man City and Chelsea in the Premier League.

Glenn Murray may see the Championship as his future.

So why sell him cheap? Glenn has a three-year contract and while he has found it difficult to fit into a style that works with the team and has found himself down the pecking order I wonder if any one has considered that Glenn might still be with AFCB come next August? It is most likely that if AFCB hold out and the offers they receive are not enough that Glenn could go out on loan but perhaps Brighton can't afford to take that risk when Fulham are also said to be interested in taking the striker even if Sheffield Wednesday may have cooled their interest.

For once AFCB are not in a bad position. While Murray's wages will be the main concern, he is not a bad player to have on the bench and he is the only striker of his type at the club. AFCB seem more interested in attracting more pacy forwards at present with Millwall's Mikael Ndjoli said to be prime target number one for AFCB's U21 squad, according to the Daily Express.

AFCB fans of course will be hoping to see some big names come into the side this summer but that may depend very much on what happens to players like Glenn Murray, who may have to leave if AFCB want to fund more signings without throwing money away.