Premier League side Bournemouth have had a bid for Brentford defender Chris Mepham rejected, according to reports. The Cherries were willing to pay £5.5 million for the 20-year-old. The highly-rated defender was first scouted by Bournemouth while playing for the Bees B team. The Cherries’ interest in him has peaked since his promotion to the first team and Eddie Howe will be upset at having his bid rejected for Mepham.
The Cherries were outmuscled in the deal as the player had recently signed a long-term contract with Brentford and the Bees were in no mood to part ways with their highly talented player.The Bees are struggling to make it to a playoff spot and want to hold on to their best prospects. Mepham joined Brentford after leaving the Chelsea youth academy at the age of 14.
Although the deal for Mepham seems to be off, the youngster could have learned a lot by playing under the tutelage of Eddie Howe at Bournemouth. The story of Eddie Howe is what football fairy tales are made of. The man was with the club through its thick and thin and has perhaps been the most influential person in Bournemouth’s fantasy journey to the top tier of English football.
When Eddie Howe, retired from football in 2007, Bournemouth were playing in the fourth tier of English football. In his two spells at the club, he managed their progress through League One and the Championships to the glorious Premier League.
Bournemouth are in no mood to rest on their laurels and want to continue to grow in the Premier League. After securing a promotion in the 2014-15 season to the Premier League, they finished 16th on their first campaign in England’s premier club competition. They surprised everyone by doing even better and finished a record high ninth in the league last year. Things have been difficult this year with the club currently sitting in the 13th position. They have failed to find the net on a regular basis with the Cherries only scoring 25 goals in twenty-four league games this season.
However, with Eddie Howe in charge, the club can still hope to pull off more miracles and continue their footballing journey in England’s top flight. The man has a special talent for honing and nurturing young talent and might have worked miracles with Mepham. However, there is still the last few hours of the window left to go and Bournemouth might seek to register yet another bid for the youngster to improve the Cherries in the second half of the season.
