AFC Bournemouth head coach Andoni Iraola has expressed his desire to keep Cherries defender Lloyd Kelly on the south coast.
The 25-year-old who captained AFC Bournemouth to promotion from the Championship in 2022 is out of contract at Dean Court at the end of the 2023/24 campaign.
He has enjoyed an excellent start to the current Premier League season, impressing at both centre-back and left-back roles.
Kelly is reportedly a target by a whole host of top clubs across Europe, with Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Newcastle United listed as potential suitors alongside Italian Serie A giants AC Milan and Juventus alongside German Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund.
However, despite this interest and looking at the prospect of losing Kelly on a free transfer in July 2024, AFC Bournemouth are reportedly not willing to entertain offers in January.
Instead, it appears clear that AFC Bournemouth’s focus is on attempting to persuade Kelly to remain at Dean Court. Something that would certainly please AFC Bournemouth head coach Andoni Iraola, who told the Daily Echo…
“I don’t know what will happen.
“I don’t want to lose him. For me, he is a very, very good player.
“I would say he is one of our best players and he has been playing really well for me, the games he has been available.
“He started with a small injury, but whenever he has been fit, he has been doing really well for us.
“I value him very highly. It’s normal that he is associated with other big clubs, because I think he has a good level.
“Of course I don’t want to lose him.”
Your say…
darwinsdummy said…
if he can be the difference between relegation and survival that’s worth a lot more than any fee we’d get in the winter window. With how solid Kelly has been, I really don’t see us selling him in the winter outside of some absurd 30m+ offer, since we’d need to immediately replace him with a CB + LB that are ready to fight for starting positions. Of course, still need an eye toward both of those to replace him in the summer, but we’ve got two windows to work toward that. – To join the conversation, click here.
