Bournemouth boss claims Chelsea attacking target is going nowhere

Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe says the club will not entertain any interest in England striker Callum Wilson or any other of their key players when the transfer window opens in January.

Wilson, who has been tipped to join Chelsea, is expected to return from a minor hamstring problem which kept him out of the 4-0 home defeat by Liverpool last weekend for Saturday’s trip to Wolves.

He forced his way into the England set-up this season by scoring seven times and marked his first international cap with a goal in the win over the United States at Wembley in November.

Howe, though, is not about to let any of the Cherries’ core squad depart as the club look to build on their promising start and target a top-seven finish.

“Yes, we are (confident),” Howe said when asked at a press conference whether the club would keep Wilson during the January window.

“At this stage we are just focusing on the matches, we have got so many games to come around the Christmas period, I am sure Callum is the same, he is focusing on his football.

“We are certainly not anticipating losing players in January that we don’t want to.”

Howe will not risk any long-term problems for Wilson by throwing the striker back into action unless he is fully match fit.

“(He makes) a huge difference. You need your best players fit and available, and Callum has had an excellent season to this point,” Howe said.

“Physically he’s been good as this is the first problem he’s had, but we have to be careful with the problem, we are not going to push players too early, so we will wait and see for this game.”

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