Both Bournemouth, Aston Villa and Leicester are all interested in signing Southampton’s Charlie Austin.
A number of clubs are circling around Southampton ready to pounce on Charlie Austin should the south coast club get relegated at the end of the season.
With both Bournemouth and Aston Villa interested, Eddie Howe should be thinking of offering Cherries loanee Lewis Grabban at a cut price to promotion chasing Villa, in an attempt to ward off interest from the Midlands club.
Should the Villans come up, they will be on the look out for some added fire power up top, with Grabban only on loan as it stands.
The Bournemouth owned forward has hit 16 goals this season, 12 of which were on loan at Sunderland before the January transfer window, and has proven his worth as a goal getter for both loan clubs.
However, with a distinctly average goal record in the Premier League with Norwich and Bournemouth, Villa may be looking to bring in somebody with more of a proven track record of goals in the top flight, as opposed to the likes of Grabban.
Bournemouth are fairly stacked when it comes to forward options with the likes of Josh King, Junior Stanislas, Callum Wilson and Jermain Defoe all in the squad, and should not suffer too much from the loss of Grabban.
30-year-old Grabban has experienced decent scoring form for Villa, so Bruce should be aiming for the forward to carry it through to the next campaign should they be able to turn his current deal into a permanent one.
Irish international Scott Hogan returned to the Villans’ lineup last night and got on the score sheet and will provide some competition for Grabban up front. If the Bournemouth loanee can continue to prove this worth and warrant an approach for a permanent deal, Bournemouth should absolutely cut ties to free up space in their own squad for the potential arrival of Austin, whilst slightly reducing the necessity for Villa to mount their own approach for the Southampton man.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
