Bournemouth hopeful of beating Newcastle, Norwich and Swansea to Chelsea striker

AFC Bournemouth are reportedly willing to hand Chelsea striker Patrick Bamford another loan spell in the Premier League this January.

The newly-promoted club, who currently sit four points above the bottom three after their goalless draw with Leicester City at the weekend, are keen on recruiting a forward during this month’s transfer window to ensure they stay in the English top-flight past May.

The 22-year-old, who arrived at Stamford Bridge for a reported £1.5m almost three years ago from Nottingham Forest, failed to score in nine first-team appearances whilst on loan at Crystal Palace during the first-half of this campaign.

Bamford, who is an England Under-20 international, has since cut short his loan spell with the Eagles and is available to re-join another club until the end of the season.

The Forest youth graduate scored an impressive 17 league goals in 38 appearances for Championship outfit Middlesbrough last term.

With the Cherries’ top goalscorer Callum Wilson out until at least mid-April, Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe is thought to be desperate on signing another striker in January to help ease the goalscoring burden on the likes of Glenn Murray and Joshua King at the Goldsands Stadium.

However; the likes of Newcastle United, Norwich City and Swansea City have also been linked with similar loan moves for the Blues forward.