CHERRIES RIPE FOR PICKING
Bournemouth plan to offload star names — and maybe even their manager — as financial crisis bites
BOURNEMOUTH are preparing a cost-cutting drive ahead of next season which will include key players Nathan Ake and Josh King being put up for sale.
The club are second from bottom of the Premier League following a terrible run of only one point from eight matches.
And Sportsmail understands Bournemouth are set to streamline their entire operation, regardless of which division they are playing in next season.
The Cherries are one of the smallest clubs in the top flight despite five consecutive seasons in the Premier League.
Given their small stadium of just over 11,000 capacity and a sizeable wage bill, the coronavirus crisis has hit them particularly hard.
Manager Eddie Howe and other high-profile members of staff voluntarily took pay-cuts to help ease the financial burden on the club.
Bournemouth chiefs are now planning to implement changes to the club’s structure ahead of the forthcoming campaign, leaving footballing and nonfootballing staff at risk.
Staff across a number of departments whose contracts have elapsed or are due to expire could find themselves in danger, irrespective of whether Bournemouth stay in the Premier League — and redundancies are likely if relegation is confirmed.
There is significant hope, though, that job losses will be minimal as the club’s size means they already work with a relatively small number of staff.
The drive to cut costs will also include key players being sold as Bournemouth look to reduce their wage bill.
The club will listen to offers for key central defender Ake, who they signed from Chelsea for £20million in 2017.
The 25-year-old will be a hot property once the transfer market reopens, with several top-six clubs monitoring the Holland international, who is valued at around £40m.
The fact that he is left-footed and qualified as a homegrown player adds to his attraction.
Rumours of Manchester United’s interest in Ake were fuelled by TV footage at the end of the two teams’ clash on Saturday. United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer appeared to tell the Dutchman that United ‘need a left-footed centre back’.
King, who came close to leaving for Old Trafford in January, also looks likely to depart as he enters the final 12 months of his contract. The forward, who has scored 49 goals for Bournemouth since arriving on a free transfer in 2015, is understood to have told the club that he is unwilling to sign a contract extension.
The Cherries will look to sell to avoid losing him for nothing.
England international Callum Wilson and Wales star David Brooks will also be targeted by rival clubs if Bournemouth are relegated.
Similarly, doubts over the future of manager Eddie Howe will also intensify this summer.
Despite the club’s difficult season, Howe remains one of England’s most highly rated bosses and Premier League clubs would surely be interested if he became available.