End of season player report – who we need to cling onto, and who needs to be cut loose

So as a memorable season for AFC Bournemouth comes to a close it’s time to look at the playing squad – and overall I they’ve fared incredibly well considering the quality of opposition they’ve faced week in week out. Several of these players were plying their trade in League One three years ago don’t forget.

But looking how far we’ve come will only get you so far, so I’m going to take a look over every player in and around the squad – and whether (in my opinion) they’ve been good enough to stick around with us on this ongoing journey. To do this I’ve split them up into four different categories…

Players we’ll have to fight to hold onto

Callum Wilson was being monitored by many clubs at the start of this season, but his cruciate ligament injury in September seemed to cool this interest somewhat. We should therefore see him in the red and black of AFCB for a little while longer – but if he starts the next campaign well we’ll certainly have a fight on to keep him.

Our other striker, Josh King, has undoubtedly been our most improved player over the course of this season however - with some impressive performances combining both pace and power – and so I wouldn’t be surprised if he was the subject of some speculative bids. Keeping this duo at the club will be essential if we want to survive a second year in the Premier League though.

Other than these two, Matt Ritchie and Adam Smith have been in the press as possible targets for larger clubs – but I think we should be able to hold onto them for a little while longer. The same applies for midfield dynamo Harry Arter, who could attract the attention of other sides if he continues to put in his trademark battling performances.

Players fighting for a first team place

Simon Francis, Steve Cook, and Charlie Daniels have been consistent part of our back four this season, and I can see all of them fighting it out for a first team place in our next campaign – even though I can see us signing at least one other defender to add some much needed competition for places.

Aside from this trio, Tyrone Mings could look to muscle his way in to the defence when he returns from his long-term injury - which resulted in him only playing a handful of minutes for us this season. Whether that’ll be as a RB or CB we’ll just have to wait and see though.

Talking of injuries, Max Gradel has an up and down campaign largely due to rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament - but with a full pre-season’s training behind him he can hopefully start look to recapture some of brilliance he displayed at Upton Park way back in August.

Moving on, Andrew Surman is the only player to play every single minute of every match for us this season - so it’s probably safe to say he’ll be in and around our first eleven in next year’s campaign too.

Up front, big January signings Benik Afobe and Lewis Grabban will provide competition for Callum Wilson and Josh King – although in my mind they’ll have some work to do to get in the first team after failing to impress in recent weeks.

Finally for this section is Artur Boruc, and despite a truly mixed bag of a season in terms of performances the big Pole will likely be hanging around for another season - and probably be first choice if no new keeper is signed up.

Valuable squad players

We have several solid (but not spectacular) wingers who will likely remain on the peripheries of the squad, including Marc Pugh and Junior Stanislas – as well as Ryan Fraser, who has spent most of this season impressing while on loan at Ipswich Town. Midfield workhorse Dan Gosling can also join that sturdy but unremarkable bracket.

Others who will likely be warming our bench include Adam Federici (as our back up keeper) - unless he wants regular first team football of course. The same applies for left-back Rhoys Wiggins, who arrived in January but hasn’t even played for us yet.

Players that may have to be moved on

He may be loved by most of our fans, but I think we all know the sad truth – captain Tommy Elphick simply doesn’t look mobile enough for this level and may need to find another club if he wants to find first team football. Fellow centre back Sylvain Distin will also surely leave the club this summer, especially if the rumours of his annoyance of not playing much are true.

Aside from this Shaun MacDonald, Eunan O’Kane, and Glenn Murray might want to look elsewhere if they want to spend much time on the pitch – all still have a lot to offer, and personally I’d love to see them become heroes at other clubs rather than rotting away in our reserves.

Youth prospect Baily Cargill will likely go out on loan again next season, whereas Jayden Stockley looks likely to sign for Exeter City - where he should do well under the tutelage of Paul Tisdale.

Finally three players that will almost certainly be moved on include cult icon Tokelo Rantie, loan enigma Juan Iturbe, and Stephane Zubar. Yes, we still technically have Zubar on our books.