Wanted Wilson has got the lot
IT’S a funny thing, transfer talk. It can render some folk unusable, like Marko Arnautovic, and it can raise others, such as Callum Wilson, to show precisely what all the chatter is about.
It remains to be seen if Wilson’s 10th goal of the season does anything to convince West Ham, Chelsea or Tottenham to part with upwards of £50m.
But there can be little doubt about his ability to perform amid the uncertainty. While Arnautovic was left at home by West Ham due to his Chinese stand-off, Wilson scored a marvellous goal to put Bournemouth ahead and the 26-yearold’s wider contribution demonstrated once more that he is capable of far more than putting balls in nets.
His commitment to his manager and club, which has stood by him through injuries, has not been questioned. But there is realism in the air.
‘He wants to play in the Champions League — everyone does,’ said captain Steve Cook. ‘Is that possible for a lot of us? Maybe not. Hopefully we can do our best for him and get him as high as possible.
‘No one has really spoken about transfers in the dressing room. As soon as you have that in a changing room, it becomes dangerous. Us as players, as leaders, have to stop that from happening and focus on winning games.
‘If Callum keeps scoring the goals, I am sure it will be a tough thing to keep hold of him, but I can’t remember the last player we sold who was a big part of the gaffer’s plans.’
Cook’s reference to the dangers of a player openly wanting out were supported by West Ham’s lifeless showing.
In the absence of Arnautovic, whose move to China is on the rocks with Guangzhou Evergrande having lost interest, they had none of the verve seen in their run of six wins in nine games. Andy Carroll was Arnautovic’s replacement and he no longer fits the style of play. His miss from two yards in the second half summed up his day.
BOURNEMOUTH (4-4-2): Boruc 6; Clyne 7, S Cook 6.5, Ake 7, Smith 6.5; Brooks 7.5 (Mousset 90min+3), Gosling 6.5, Lerma 7, Fraser 7 (Daniels 90+2); King 6, WILSON 8 (Stanislas 73, 6). Subs not used: Begovic, Simpson, Rico, Surman. Scorers: Wilson 53, King 90+1. Manager: Eddie Howe 7. WEST HAM (4-3-3): Fabianski 7; Zabaleta 6.5, Diop 6.5, Ogbonna 6, Cresswell 6; Noble 7 (Diangana 79), Rice 6, Nasri 6 (Snodgrass 66, 6); Antonio 5.5, Carroll 4 (Hernandez 66, 6), Anderson 5.5. Subs not used: Adrian, Masuaku, Obiang, Xande Silva. Booked: Carroll. Manager: Manuel Pellegrini 5.5. Referee: Simon Hooper 6. Attendance: 10,495.