Former Bristol City defender Lloyd Kelly is being lined up for a January move to West Ham United, according to reports.
The Telegraph suggests Hammers manager David Moyes is eying a move for the Bristol-born centre-back, who has established himself as one of Bournemouth's top performers since moving there from BS3 for £13million in 2019.
West Ham have injury issues at the back with Angelo Ogbonna and Kurt Zouma both sidelined for significant periods, and Moyes is said to want a centre-half comfortable on his left foot to bring balance to his backline.
Kelly would fit the bill, and his leadership skills would be an added bonus with the England under-21 international wearing the armband for second-placed Bournemouth this season.
In addition to an outside chance at the top four in the Premier League, the move would also bring the perk of European football with the Hammers into the knockout stages of the Europa League after cruising through their group. It represents an opportunity the player would be unlikely to refuse.
City's business model in recent seasons has centred on developing players and selling them for profit, with Adam Webster, Josh Brownhill, Bobby Decordova-Reid and Kelly among the players moved on in multi-million-pound deals.
Part of that strategy is sell-on clauses, and City are likely to take a share of the profit should Bournemouth choose to do business with the Hammers next month.
But Kelly heading to the London Stadium is far from a sure thing, with Cherries boss Scott Parker sure to be resistant to letting a player who has captained his side this season leave midway through a campaign that has Bournemouth in the automatic promotion places.
Bournemouth have shown signs of faltering in recent weeks, losing two on the bounce and going winless in six games, and their manager will not want the added problem of losing a star defender to contend with in January.
However, the pressures of the pandemic could force Bournemouth's hand.
Moyes will hope to repeat the success he had with the signing of Jarrod Bowen from Championship side Hull City almost two years ago.
Bowen has established himself as a star in East London and Moyes – a former Bristol City defender himself – will hope to have comparable success if he can get a deal done for Kelly in January.
Kelly, who made 48 appearances for the Robins from 2017-19, has played 19 times for Bournemouth in the Championship this season, scoring once.
He made eight Premier League appearances in his first season with the Cherries en route to relegation.
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