Why Bournemouth were smart in keeping hold of Josh King in January
According to the Athletic (h/t The Daily Star), Manchester United were keen on a deadline day swoop for Bournemouth striker Josh King.
Josh King, 28, emerged as a shock option for Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who worked with the striker when he was a youth-team player at Old Trafford. United urgently needed a new forward after losing Marcus Rashford to injury, the report adds. (h/t The Daily Star)
However, no deal materialised and the Red Devils instead ended up signing Odion Ighalo from Shanghai Shenhua on loan until the end of the season.
Meanwhile, Bournemouth have endured a torrid season in the Premier League and are battling relegation. They ended their four-game losing streak by beating Brighton 3-1 last week. As the Cherries are fighting tooth and nail to retain their top-flight status, the January transfer window was crucial for Eddie Howe.
But Bournemouth failed to bring in new players in January, meaning Howe will have the same squad to fight with until the end of the season. Thus, it was very crucial for the Cherries to keep hold of their best players during the window and they did a good job by retaining the services of Josh King.
King has done well for Bournemouth since moving to the Vitality Stadium from Blackburn Rovers back in 2015. He has scored 36 goals in the last three Premier League campaigns, forming a strong partnership with Callum Wilson up front.
Just like Wilson, Ryan Fraser, Nathan Ake and a couple more, King hasn’t enjoyed the best of times in the Premier League this season. The Norwegian has netted three goals and supplied two assists in 16 league appearances. He is currently out injured and is expected to return after the winter break.
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Despite King not having a good campaign, he remains one of Howe’s key players. In fact, to stave away Manchester United’s interest, Bournemouth demanded over £50m for King, as per famous journalist Graeme Bailey.
With Bournemouth struggling, Howe did the right thing by keeping hold of King. The Norwegian may not have scored as many goals as he would have liked this season but he remains one of the sea coast club’s most important players.
