Source: Bournemouth_Echo
Cherries: Pompey made late bid to hijack Pitman deal
EDDIE Mitchell is hoping Cherries can ward off further interest in Eddie Howe's squad after it emerged the club had rejected an 11th-hour bid for Brett Pitman from Portsmouth.[LNB] The Championship strugglers, who are managed by former Cherries star Steve Cotterill, tried to hijack Pitman's move to Bristol City earlier this week.[LNB] But the striker, who turned down the chance to join Premier League new boys Blackpool, was eventually sold to the West Country outfit for a fee which has yet to be disclosed.[LNB] Although details of Pompey's bid are not known, the Daily Echo understands Cherries will receive around £500,000 in stage payments for Pitman. The deal is also believed to include further payments based on Pitman's appearances and goals together with a sell-on clause.[LNB] Bristol City swooped for Pitman after the Jerseyman had plundered a hat-trick in Cherries' 5-1 drubbing of Peterborough 11 days ago.[LNB] A host of scouts from Premier League, Championship and League One clubs are again expected to descend on Dean Court when Cherries host Notts County on Saturday.[LNB] And with the transfer window due to close at the end of the month, Mitchell is hoping the Cherries squad will remain intact, at least until it re-opens in January.[LNB] He told the Daily Echo: There is interest but I think we will stay with the players we have got. There is bound to be interest because we have got a good squad.[LNB] We certainly don't want to lose any more players but I can only reiterate what I said about Brett. I was hoping he would stay but, obviously, he wanted to go and terms were agreed.[LNB] Outlining how the club planned to use the Pitman money, Mitchell added: The payments are staggered so it is not an outright windfall for us.[LNB] It is not the case that we have got one big lump of money coming in.[LNB] It will help the club's finances but there are other things we have spent money on. We have got to pay for Marc Pugh and Rhoys Wiggins and are still looking at other players. We have spent money so it's not as if it's all gone one way. We also have an increased wage bill and are still mopping up the old debt and will continue to do so until we are debt free.[LNB] We've got a good squad and would like to add to it but it's about finding the right people.[LNB]
