Bournemouth have been keeping tabs on Bristol City’s Bobby Reid for quite some time but have not come forward with a bid yet. The Robins have already rejected West Brom’s £7m offer and are looking for an 8-figure sum. Frank Lampard is soon to be without Matej Vydra at Derby County and is lining up a £8m bid for the player as well.
Hopefully, City will turn them down as well, opening up the race for Bournemouth. Eddie Howe understandably has more financial pedigree than the Championship outfit after spending the past three seasons in the Premier League.
The Cherries could meet City’s valuation to bolster their attacking lineup ahead of the 2018/19 campaign. They finished in the 12th spot in the points table the last term with a goal difference of negative 16.
Howe has players like Joshua King, Callum Wilson, Lys Mousset, Lewis Grabban and Jermain Defoe. He has already sold Benik Afobe off to Wolves and still has to deal with the contracts of Grabban and Defoe.
Grabban is coming off a loan spell with Aston Villa and is unsure of his future at Dean Court. Defoe, who is 35, is nearing the end of his playing career and is more of a sporadic option now. Without King or Wilson really hitting a consistent scoring run, the Cherries might have to go all in for an inform striker like Reid.
The 25-year-old charged the Bristol offence last season by scoring 21 goals and furthering 8 assists in 52 total appearances. Lee Johnson converted him from an attacking midfielder to a secondary striker and has been greatly rewarded for that decision.
Reid has not only flourished in his newfound striker role, he has also managed to carve up a significant value to his name due to his versatility. Once an academy prospect with no first-team opportunities is looking like a player legends are made off.
When asked about Reid’s development, his former academy teammate George Rigg said, “He’s always had an eye for goal. He knew where the goal was and he’s really dedicated. Even in his spare time he’s always doing things practising. There’s a lot of work off the pitch that Bobby puts in to obviously be able to then perform on the pitch.”
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With the technical prowess and the scoring vision, Reid has all the traits to succeed in the English top-flight and in Howe’s system at Dorset.
