AFC Bournemouth manager Scott Parker has said he doesn't want any players who don't want to be at the Vitality Stadium to remain with the club, speaking to The Guardian.

40-year-old Parker took charge of the Cherries at the end of June, after his predecessor Jonathan Woodgate was unable to guide them back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

The former Spurs and Real Madrid centre-back oversaw an upturn in form after succeeding Jason Tindall in February, which dragged the club back into the top six.

 

 

But after winning the first leg of the play-off semi-finals against Brentford, they went on to lose 3-1 in west London to the eventual promotion-winners in the return tie, consigning them to another season of Championship football.

With this failure to be promoted, a couple of their biggest talents have been linked with a move away from the south coast in the past few months, with reliable shot-stopper Asmir Begovic already making the move to Everton.

Two key players could potentially be following the Bosnian out of the door between now and the transfer deadline at the end of the month, with Norwich City opening talks for Danish midfielder Philip Billing and lethal winger Arnaut Danjuma continuing to attract interest from several clubs.

The latter has been the subject of a formal £13m bid from Valencia, although this was never going to be accepted with the Cherries forking out more than that to bring him to the Vitality Stadium back in 2019.

He's also being monitored by the likes of Liverpool, Crystal Palace, West Ham, Everton and Wolves - and speculation surrounding his future is unlikely to cease until the end of the window.

Danjuma spoke out about his desire to leave the club in June, comments he later clarified. But manager Parker has a message to him and others who may want to move on from Bournemouth in the next few weeks.

He said to The Guardian: "I’d never want a player in my team that didn’t want to be here or didn’t feel that they deserved to be in this division.

"The players are at this club and in this division because they have not done well enough last year to get out of here.

"I always say to my players, you have to look at yourself – hard – first and foremost.

"If you’re at this club at the end of the transfer window, you’re either here on the train and you’re going to be fine and I’ll see that in people’s actions on a daily basis, or if not, you probably won’t."

The Verdict:

Commitment seems to be a non-negotiable for Scott Parker down on the south coast - and so it should be if they want to get back to the Premier League.

Although winger Danjuma was a major reason as to why they were able to climb back into the play-off places and compete for promotion, scoring 17 goals and recording eight assists in 37 competitive appearances last term, his performances may worsen if his commitment to the club is waning.

If that's the case, the Cherries need to cash in on the Dutchman and reinvest the money back into the squad, because they could easily get £15m-£20m for his services considering he still has three years left on his current deal.

This sort of money could allow Scott Parker to find an adequate replacement for the 24-year-old and strengthen multiple positions ahead of a gruelling campaign.

A goalkeeper is currently at the top of their wishlist - and these funds may enable Bournemouth to splash out on a top-quality shot-stopper.