Bournemouth are playing hardball over the sale of Callum Wilson with the Daily Star reporting that the Cherries would consider offers above £70m if they were to sell him this month. Eddie Howe’s men are in woeful form in all competitions having lost 11 of their last 14 games, winning just two in a run that stretches back to October.
It has been defensively where they have struggled in recent months having conceded a whopping 17 goals in the five games since Christmas. However, up front, if they were without Callum Wilson they would be in a much worse position than the 12th place they now find themself in.
The 25-year-old has contributed to fourteen Bournemouth goals this season in the top flight, with nine goals and five assists this campaign. The £19m signing of Dominic Solanke from Liverpool means that Eddie Howe does have a replacement ready to take Wilson’s place although it will take a few weeks for him to recover from his injury and get back up to full fitness.
A lot will depend on whether Chelsea can ship off Alvaro Morata to Sevilla as Maurizio Sarri looks to cure his attacking woes. If that deal can be done then the Blues can go all in for a replacement, likely to be the Bournemouth man.
But there is a reason why Bournemouth are asking for so much money for the forward who has been plagued with injuries over recent years.
The Cherries are obviously wanting to bag as much money as possible if they do decide to sell their star man. However, another club that would benefit if Wilson was sold for big money is Coventry City.
Wilson came through the Sky Blues’ illustrious academy and broke into the first team in 2012. After a couple of hugely successful seasons at Coventry, it was clear he was too good for League One and was sold on to Bournemouth, then in the Championship, for a paltry sum of £3 million.
However, Coventry may not have been massively mugged off if Wilson is sold for £50-£70m.
A 15% sell on fee was included in his sale which means if the Cherries hitman is sold for the £70m, as the Daily Star report, City would scoop just over £10m pounds, taking a huge chunk out of Bournemouth’s sale.
Added to that, some of that £70m would be made up of bonuses and clauses meaning that Bournemouth would be lucky to see £50m for the striker and that is if they sell him on for the full £70m. The transfer window is never as simple as it seems with these deals but Coventry will be licking their lips at the prospect of Wilson being sold.