Our resident Cherries in the Transfer Tavern are constantly singing the praises of manager, Eddie Howe, even more so as he started 2017 with Bournemouth in the top half of the Premier League.
Though Howe is surely destined for bigger things in his managerial career, he will always find a home at the Vitality Stadium as he cements his status as a club legend season by season.
It is fair to say that much of Howe and Bournemouth’s success has come down to the consistency of team selection, which has seen them avoid the much feared second season syndrome in their second season of the top flight.
Though consistency is good for some players, there are some members of the Bournemouth squad our landlord believes Howe must get rid off, in order to shape his squad for any potential new January arrivals.
Our landlord here in the Transfer Tavern thinks that these two players need to be offloaded this week….
Lewis Grabban
With Callum Wilson currently leading the Cherries’ scoring charts and Benik Afobe proving to be a more than capable back up, Lewis Grabban has found himself well on the fringes at the Vitality.
The former Norwich man has been consigned to a limited number of appearances from the bench this season and though he was only signed last January window – our Landlord would not be surprised to see him make another January move, though it will be very difficult for Howe to recoup the money he spent on him a year ago.
Max Gradel
Though Gradel is off to the African Cup of Nations with the Ivory Coast, Bournemouth punters in the Transfer Tavern claim they won’t even notice he’s gone due to the lack of appearances made by Gradel this season.
Though already behind Junior Stanislas and Jordon Ibe in the pecking order for positions in the wide area, the re-emergence of Ryan Fraser has done no favours to Gradel’s case and the former Leeds man could well find himself returning from international duty to a new club.
Our Transfer Tavern landlord is less optimistic for Gradel to gain a move, citing the African Cup of Nations as a hindrance as well as the common view that Gradel has never proven himself in the Premier League.
