Bournemouth boss admits he would ‘love’ to sign midfielder Jack Wilshere permanently

Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe has said that he would ‘love’ to keep midfielder Jack Wilshere at the club beyond his loan spell at the Vitality Stadium.

The England international joined the Cherries on a season-long loan deal from Arsenal last summer, and has made 19 Premier League starts this term, as well as five substitute appearances.

One of those five appearances from the bench came in their 0-0 draw at Southampton at the weekend, a result which saw Howe’s men extend their unbeaten league run to four matches, and remain 11th in the division.

There was much talk about Wilshere’s impact on proceedings at St Mary’s, he replaced Josh King with 20 minutes to go, and it led to Cherries boss Howe expressing his desire to keep the 25-year-old beyond the summer.

He said in his post-match press conference: ‘I’ve always said that we love Jack, we would love to sign him as a football club.

‘But that decision will rest with Arsenal, with Jack, and with other people that’s out of our hands.’

The England midfielder, who missed out on Gareth Southgate’s most recent squad for games against Germany and Lithuania, said a few weeks ago that his future at Arsenal is far from certain, and with the likes of West Ham and Manchester City linked with a move for the 25-year-old, it very much remains to be seen where he is come August.

One club that would clearly like to have him though is Bournemouth, and although Wilshere has not started any of their last three Premier League games, manager Howe has praised his attitude off the pitch.

He said: ‘What he has done when he has come on is shown that he has a great attitude behind the scenes.

‘He’s been outstanding for us and I thought he really was the defining factor in us gaining total control of that game, and really should have gone on to win because of his performance.

‘He has been an outstanding professional and I cannot speak highly enough of him as a player and as a person.’

Wilshere certainly made an impact when coming off the bench against the Saints on Saturday, but whether that’s enough to earn him a 20th league start of the campaign on Wednesday against Liverpool remains to be seen.