Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe still hopes to fill a gap in his squad

18 August 2017 13:24

Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe admits he could still do with one extra body, but believes while his squad may be "short in numbers we are very high in quality".

The Cherries opened the new Premier League season with a disappointing 1-0 win at West Brom.

Bournemouth spent big during the summer transfer window.

Defender Nathan Ake, in a £20million deal, and veteran goalkeeper Asmir Begovic were signed from Chelsea while England striker Jermain Defoe secured lucrative personal terms following his free transfer from Sunderland.

Howe has, though, also allowed winger Max Gradel to this week join French Ligue 1 side Toulouse on loan until the end of the season, while 22-year-old defender Baily Cargill has switched to League One outfit Fleetwood for the rest of the campaign.

With midfielder Junior Stanislas continuing his rehabilitation on a groin problem and forward Callum Wilson recovering from a serious knee injury, the Bournemouth manager accepts his squad is looking a bit threadbare.

Bournemouth have been linked with a £20million swoop for Leicester's England Under-21 winger Demarai Gray ahead of the deadline.

Howe, though, is confident whatever side he is able to put out against Watford on Saturday will have enough talent to get the required result.

"Possibly it (new transfer) could happen in one position, but it's not a must," Howe said at a press conference

"While we are short in numbers, we are very high in quality and the pool of players we have is very strong - that's my issue if we were to get any injuries.

"Our plan was always to get our business done early. The fact that there's inactivity now, I don't buy into the theory that the fans are getting restless as we have brought in great quality already."

Defoe was carrying a groin injury into the West Brom game, where he came off the bench, but could make his home Premier League debut back at the club he enjoyed a successful loan spell with as a raw young talent.

Howe added: "There were some positives at West Brom, but not too many.

"We expected a difficult game and we dominated possession, but didn't do enough with it - which is unlike us really as we saw from last season.

"We wanted to get up and running and get the momentum early on, so we're disappointed by that.

"(Against Watford), we need to get our tempo and passing moving and if we do that we will have a good chance."

Watford began their Premier League campaign with a thrilling 3-3 draw at home to Liverpool.

Howe has been impressed by the methods of Portuguese coach Marco Silva, who took over at the Hornets after leaving Hull at the end of last season when he had been unable to keep them up.

"They had a good shape against Liverpool and you could see that Marco Silva has worked with them, they have always been able to bring good players in and this summer's been no difference," he said.

"We played Hull in Marco Silva's first game and that day Hull were very impressive, came from a goal down and were very strong. He built spirit from quite a low ebb.

"After the game he also left an impression on me, he was very friendly and knowledgeable and had done his research about the Premier League.

"It doesn't surprise me that he still in the league with a job."

Source: PA