Bournemouth midfielder and striker in hot demand

Reading the news this morning you could believe that some one put a big for sale sign on the dressing room at Dean Court. Not only Premier League sides are lining up bids on some of Howe's former crop of players, but now Paris St Germain are looking to offer Josh King Champions League football.

Josh King has attention from Paris.

The fact that these players failed to keep Bournemouth up isn't turning down the heat in terms of possible prices either. Josh King has a minimum price-tag of £25m on his head, says The Sun. That is nothing though compared to David Brooks, who Liverpool are chasing for a reported £35m according to The Daily Mail.

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If Jason Tindall wanted a difficult first week, he certainly has it. Bournemouth may have little to show for their Premier League tenure, because most of their assets were on the pitch, but now the crunch comes. Does Maxim Demin, Neil Blake, Richard Hughes and Jason Tindall sanction the sale of the club's big earners a week before the season tickets are closed? Moreover, can they get together any signings of their own before that date to give some heart to fans that it won't be drab season in the Championship?

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While I don't expect too many fans would have much to say about Josh King moving on, there will be massive disappointment if the club can't keep hold of David Brooks. But with the likes of Liverpool chasing after the Welsh winger, I can't see how Bournemouth can prevent their young genius being snapped up, just like Liverpool have done to Southampton in the past.

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The point is, if these players are bring sold, can the money be reinvested just as well or better. That is the worrying part as we don't know what kind of budget JT is going to be allowed to spend. I fear it won't be what comes in and that is probably why Eddie Howe decided to call it a day.

It is a difficult situation to be in, but I just hope the best decisions for the long-term future of AFCB are made. If the players want to go then it is all about getting the best price for them.

Previous post on Cherry Chimes - A big job for JT

In other news, Philip Billing's house was broken into and AFCb are upping the security of players' homes. Striker, Scott Hogan of Aston Villa has also been linked with AFCB.

Who do you want the Cherries to face in pre-season?

The task of planning for next season has already begun with the release of seven squad players already but attention will soon turn to a summer training camp and a line up of friendlies before the new season kicks off. While it would be great to play one or two Premier League sides before the August date with destiny, it is going to be difficult to arrange such games when most of the Premier League go on the Far East, American or Middle East tours. I wonder if AFCB might even entertain the idea of a pre-season tournament as the best way to play a few top sides?

Of course AFCB don't have to play against Premier League opposition they could try and go a step further afield and see if they can get to take on the likes of a PSV Eindhoven, FC Basel, VFL Wolfsburg, Schalke 04, Napoli, Roma, Paris St-Germain, Monaco, or Athletico Madrid for example, but such prestige matches are only going to be effective if Eddie Howe can learn more about his players and they can benefit from the experience of going up against some of Europe's elite. Just as much planning will go into picking up fixtures against some of the local teams that annually like to see if they can get one over on the Cherries, and I like those games as the competition is friendly and yet usually a good price  to see, while you often see a few new recruits fitting into the team. The Development Squad also needs plenty of fixtures so there is a lot of work to do at the club at the moment.

Ronaldo might not be coming to Dean Court this
 pre-season but there might be some other big players
and European teams that would fit the bill.

Last season AFCB might not have had the likes of Real Madrid to warm up against, but looking at how the European club competitions have gone this season it would not be such a bad idea to see what some of the continental sides are like. The training camp last season was fairly relaxed and not a bad run out against the likes of FC Copenhagen. As recently as last April the team also enjoyed the facilities out in Dubai and I wonder if an excursion to Africa might be a destination the club would like to try soon. It is hard to imagine AFCB as a global brand but that is the next step of the club's progression. Last pre-season there was talk of Rangers coming down but perhaps Celtic would be a good option for the Cherries now.

Getting fit and enjoying playing as a team is what really counts though no matter who the opposition. Hitting form in early August will be the aim and preparation is something that Eddie and his coaching team have a knack of getting right. Lots of fun but hard work, I believe is the ethos. 

Who would you like AFCB to play pre-season? Leave a comment below.