And just like that, deal done! First signing of the summer at Bournemouth

It would appear that AFC Bournemouth have done an unbelievable job of keeping their interest in Bristol City defender Lloyd Kelly under wraps.

A little over an hour and a half has passed since Sky Sports first reported that a fee had been agreed with the Championship club and the 20-year-old left-back has already posed with AFC Bournemouth chief executive Neill Blake with the new Cherries shirt.

Welcome to the club, Lloyd Kelly! 💥#afcb 🍒 pic.twitter.com/Q2YDzghheN

— AFC Bournemouth 🍒 (@afcbournemouth) May 18, 2019

Interest in Kelly had been high, with the Bristol Post previously reporting that Liverpool, Arsenal and Southampton had all been linked with the England Under 21’s international.

Officially the fee is undisclosed, however previous reports suggest a £13million deal has been agreed with Kelly signing a “long-term deal”.

Upon signing the contract and making the step up to the top flight of English football, Kelly told afcb.co.uk…

“It’s a fantastic club. The move has come around quite quickly, but I’m happy to be here and can’t wait to start playing, Premier League football is what I’ve always wanted to achieve. I want to play as many games as possible and I feel like this is the right place for me to try and do that.”

A message from our new signing… 🤳

Now go give him a follow, #afcb fans!

👉 @lloydkelly4 pic.twitter.com/aWY7gaHtva

— AFC Bournemouth 🍒 (@afcbournemouth) May 18, 2019

AFC Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe also spoke about the deal and he said…

“Lloyd is an exciting talent and a player of real potential, while at the same time already possessing good experience for someone so young.

“He is athletic, versatile, physically excellent and has a very bright future ahead of him.

“I’m delighted that we have been able to strike so early in the summer and look forward to working with Lloyd during the coming seasons.”

Your say…

redharry wrote…

Doesn’t seem that long ago that I used to work in Bristol and had to put up with the somewhat condescending at times attitude of the City fans. They were after all a big club, bet there are a few spitting blood now !!!!! – Join the conversation, click here.