Bournemouth have just seen their £10m bid for Chris Mepham get rejected by Brentford, as reported by Sky Sports. The Championship values the defender at a much higher price and is understandably not interested in trading for him any time soon. Eddie Howe has been on the 20-year-old’s tail since January and had previously seen a £5.5m bid get turned down.
Now either the Cherries will come back with a third attempt or turn their attention towards cheaper alternatives. Mepham would have been a quality addition to the club ranks and one who Howe could build a future around.
The youngster showed sparks of brilliance during his 23 appearances for the Bees last season and has already been capped twice for the Wales national team. The Brentford academy product has progressed through the club ranks to carve out a spot in the senior team.
He was prolific in the 2016/17 season which saw him get rewarded with the club’s B Team Player Of The Season award. Now, the Welshman is a key figure in Dean Smith’s lineup and serves as the perfect rotational option behind Yoann Barbet and Andreas Bjelland.
Mepham is on a contract with Brentford till June 2022. He signed the 5-year extension after the departure of Harlee Dean last summer and is already proving to be a worthwhile investment.
Eddie Howe will be disappointed to miss out on the promising youngster even after gathering such a substantial transfer amount. The Cherries finished the previous season in the 12th spot of the points table with an 11-point gap over the relegated Swansea City.
Now the pressure is upon Howe to keep matching the talent pool of some of the rivalling clubs. Almost every side is making additions to help keep their place in the English top-flight and currently, the Bournemouth defence could use some extra heads.
After releasing Baily Cargill from his contract, Howe is left with only Tyrone Mings, Nathan Ake and Steve Cook in the centre-back position. While the trio can pull off a regular season without much fuss, the manager has to make provisions in case of an injury or for rivalling interests in any of the current players.
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Standing at 6 feet 3 inches tall, Mepham packs an athletic stature with all the right physical attributes of a top-class Premier League defender. He can read opposition attacks early and has the ability to dictate the play from the back and can definitely be a very good addition to the Cherries’ lineup if Howe can rope him in with an improved bid.
