Bournemouth have managed to get themselves back into a strong position back in the play-off places and they will now hope to ensure they do not drop out again now.

The Cherries have produced a perfect response to what looked like a potentially damaging defeat against top-six rivals Barnsley a few weeks ago and they have secured four successive league wins since.

That has seen Jonathan Woodgate’s side get back into the play-offs and now they have a chance of potentially challenging for promotion.

Were the Cherries not to earn promotion this season, they will face a massive summer where they could lose a number of key players from their squad. However, were they to go up it would give them a chance to keep the squad together. Therefore, there is a lot of things riding on the next few weeks for the football club.

With that in mind, we take a look at eight players who might be sold or released by the Cherries in the summer. Click ‘next’ to scroll through the list…

One player whose long-term future could well be away from Bournemouth is David Brooks, with him likely have a number of clubs that would be interested in the summer if the Cherries were to miss out on promotion.

Brooks was a player that attracted plenty of transfer interest last summer following the Cherries’ relegation from the Premier League and both Manchester United and Liverpool were linked with a potential move for him. However, in the end, he remained with the Cherries and has gone on to register four goals and five assists in his 26 Championship appearances so far.

The 23-year-old was also linked with a potential switch to Aston Villa in the January transfer window. Were Bournemouth not to go up you would imagine that this summer could well be the one where he finally leaves the club. The Wales international might also be able to put himself further in the shop window if he enjoys a good European championships with his country.

Another player who Bournemouth might struggle to keep hold of in the summer were they to fail to earn promotion is midfielder Phillip Billing.

Billing was linked with a potential move to Newcastle United in the January transfer window, with the Magpies having reportedly been a potential target for Steve Bruce’s side with a swap deal involving Matt Ritchie suggested. However, in the end, the midfielder remained with the Cherries and he has been a consistent and strong performer since Woodgate took charge.

The 24-year-old has managed to register six goals and three assists in his 29 Championship appearances and that will have stood him out amongst sides potentially watching on. Woodgate is likely to want to keep Billing, but that might not be possible if the club stay in the English second tier.

The Cherries could also find it a tough challenge to keep hold of defender Adam Smith were they to fail to earn promotion back to the Premier League.

It has been reported that Bournemouth are expecting Smith to be one of the players that leaves the club in the summer were they to miss out on promotion. The defender is out of contract in the summer and although the Cherries are wanting to try and keep hold of him beyond the summer they are preparing for life without him if it comes to that.

Smith has recently suggested that he is not focusing on his future at the moment and is instead putting his full attentions toward helping the Cherries secure a top-six finish. That suggests there is nothing completely finalised about his situation at this stage, but an exit seems inevitable if they do not go up.

Another experienced defender that could also depart the club in the summer is stalwart Steve Cook, who has started to see speculation emerge surrounding his long-term future recently.

Cook has been a key performer for the Cherries once again this term in the Championship and he has made 37 appearances in the English second tier helping them pick up 13 clean sheets. The 29-year-old is set to be out of contract at the end of the campaign at Bournemouth and that could make it difficult for them to keep hold of him.

The defender is being linked with a potential move to Celtic in the summer, with him thought to be a key target of Eddie Howe if he were to takeover as manager of the Scottish giants. Were that to happen then you would imagine it would be difficult for Cook to turn down the chance to work with his old boss and play in Europe.

Despite all the talent in the Bournemouth squad at the moment arguably their most important and impressive performer in the Championship this term has been Arnaut Danjuma.

Danjuma has been in excellent form in the final third and has managed to fire in 13 goals and also register six assists during his 28 league appearances to date. Were the Cherries to fail to earn promotion then it would be a major task for them to be able to keep hold of a player who has been in such good form for them this term.

The attacker has been linked with a potential move to the likes of Southampton and Brighton, who would both potentially be attractive destinations for him given they have try and have an attacking style of play. Woodgate has already recently said that he can go as high as he wants in the game and so expecting him to stay in the Championship might be too much.

Another player that Bournemouth might be set to face a difficult task to keep hold of in the summer if they do not earn promotion back to the Premier League is midfielder Jefferson Lerma.

Lerma had been the subject of some speculation surrounding his long-term future last summer following the Cherries’ relegation from the top-flight. He was linked with a potential move to Serie A side Lazio. However, in the end there was no concrete interest in the midfielder and he ended up remaining with Bournemouth for the campaign.

The midfielder has managed to be an important player for the Cherries this term and has managed to score three goals and provide two assists in his 37 Championship appearances. Keeping hold of him might be difficult if other sides from top European leagues circle in the summer.

One of the other more experienced performers at Bournemouth who could potentially be set for a departure in the summer is goalkeeper Asmir Begovic who could be subject of interest form other clubs.

Begovic has been their number one keeper in the Championship this season, after he returned from a loan spell with AC Milan during the second half of last term. He has managed to keep 15 clean sheets during his 39 appearances in the league and he also managed to average 2.8 saves per game and conceded less than a goal per match.

He has recently revealed that he did not want to return to Bournemouth and wanted to stay with AC Milan last summer and he refused to rule out a return to the Italian giants in the future. An exit does seem likely at this stage if there was to be renewed interest from Milan.

Another player who could leave the Cherries in the summer when his contract comes to an end with the club is Junior Stanislas, who is likely to have a lot of interested parties in him if he does not sign a new deal in the next few weeks.

Stanislas has been a strong performer for the Cherries when he has been fit and available this season, with the attacker having found the net ten times and also provide four assists during his 30 league appearances. That sort of form shows that he is still a player that could have an impact for them were he to be offered a new contract.

However, the 31-year-old might well be one of the players they decide to allow to leave if they stay in the Championship so that they can free up some room on their wage bill.