Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Newcastle United are a trio of Premier League clubs, alongside Italian Serie A giants AC Milan and Juventus and with German Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund who are all reportedly keen on AFC Bournemouth defender Lloyd Kelly.
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 was the subject of a transfer offer from Tottenham Hotspur during the summer transfer window, which ultimately didn’t reach a conclusion.
After initially being pulled from the squad following the end of the transfer window, Kelly has returned to the side and proved how vital he is to the squad, playing centre-back and left-back roles and has been handed the captain’s armband in the absence of injured goalkeeper Neto.
It’s been widely suggested that Tottenham remains keen and could make another offer in January, however, they now face competition from the cream of European football with former Premier League champions Liverpool, current UEFA Champions League side Newcastle United, Italian clubs AC Milan and Juventus and German outfit Borussia Dortmund all linked.
However, despite this interest and looking at the prospect of losing Kelly on a free transfer in July 2024, AFC Bournemouth are not willing to entertain offers in January according to sports media outlet TeamTalk.
They have reported that “Bournemouth intend to be stubborn over any potential deal” adding “people close to the Bournemouth end of the situation seem convinced the club are in no mood to talk this winter”.
AC Milan, Juventus and Borussia Dortmund could hold an advantage in the chase as in just over 8 weeks’ time, foreign clubs are allowed to open negotiations with players whose contracts are set to expire. They can even sign a pre-contract agreement ahead of a free transfer at the conclusion of his contract. A similar situation saw Jordan Zemura leave Dean Court earlier this year.
Another option could be that Lloyd Kelly opts to sign a new long-term contract at Dean Court, with AFC Bournemouth head coach Andoni Iraola already stating that discussions with various players are ongoing.
Kelly joined AFC Bournemouth from Bristol City in 2019 for a reported £13 million fee. Kelly has made 124 appearances for the club in all competitions, including 115 league appearances, captaining the side to promotion back to the Premier League when the Cherries finished 2nd in the second tier during the 2021/22 season.
Your say…
andyred said…
I don’t agree with booing any of our players but if that was the reason he wants out, I pray he doesn’t have a bad spell at one of the big clubs. I remember recently Spurs fans booing Davinson Sanchez when we beat them.
northstandmark wrote…
He could be a hero and a legend of historical importance, but if Paolo Maldini phones up and says come to Milan and play at the San Siro, is he gonna reply: no thanks, the chaps in the Dean Court East Stand love me?
darwinsdummy added…
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 centre-back Back + left-back 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.
