AFC Bournemouth are currently known to be short of central midfield options.
During the summer, AFC Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe allowed Harry Arter to leave the club for Cardiff City on loan. There is no recall option in that deal, so Arter will remain in Wales for the entire season.
That decision was made with Jefferson Lerma added to the squad in a £25million deal from Spanish side Levante, alongside England Under 21’s captain Lewis Cook, Dan Gosling and Andrew Surman.
Four months down the line however and Cook has been ruled out for the remainder of the season with an ACL injury and Dan Gosling has also be sidelined for the past month with a knee injury.
That has left Lerma and Surman as the only central midfield options, without considering the likes of David Brooks or Junior Stanislas as options, as they have been primarily used in wide positions.
Scottish tabloid newspaper The Scottish Sun have reported that…
“Bournemouth are weighing up a big-money January bid for Callum McGregor.
“Cherries boss Eddie Howe is a long-term admirer of the in-form Celtic midfielder.
The report went on to claim that AFC Bournemouth scout Mark Burchill watched McGregor in last week’s Scottish League Cup final.
It’s not the first time AFC Bournemouth have been linked with a Celtic player, back in May the Cherries were linked with a £20million move for Kieran Tierney.
However, that particular link went quiet after the Cherries signed Diego Rico.
Tierney can play at centre-back, but also frequently plays at left-back, the same position that Rico fills.
Your say…
northstandmark wrote…
As much as we need a central midfielder and/or right back, I would be surprised if we pull off any long-term, big money moves in January. Those deals take a lot of putting together and unless we’re already in advanced talks with a club, it’s not going to happen in time. In this example, Celtic would want to replace McGregor before agreeing to sell, even if the price was right for them. Again only the summer allows time for all that.
January will more likely be a case of going around the top 6 and looking for a 6-month loan midfielder or right back. At most, we’ll reignite talks with an already established target like Mepham (although he’s had a poor season so far from what bits I’ve seen). – Join the conversation, click here.
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