CHERRIES manager Eddie Howe insists his player recruitment policy will be quality not quantity as he continues to try to fine tune his squad for next season.

Midfielder Dan Gosling remains Cherries’ only summer arrival while Howe’s striking resources were diminished by Lewis Grabban’s departure to Norwich.

Howe has been linked with numerous players since the season ended with reports suggesting Coventry have rejected two bids from Cherries for frontman Callum Wilson.

The 22-year-old, who is valued at around £3million by the Sky Blues, is thought to be one of a host of names on Howe’s wish list, although he never comments on specific targets.

Howe made only four permanent signings last summer – Elliott Ward, Ian Harte, Mohamed Coulibaly and Tokelo Rantie – with Andrew Surman also joining on a season-long loan.

“We are actively looking for players and have made bids,” said Howe, who led Cherries to 10th place in the Championship last season. “We have been working hard over the summer to try to secure our top targets.

“I have always said that we wouldn’t be looking to bring in huge numbers but we are looking for quality. Dan Gosling highlights the type of player we are looking for and, hopefully, we can add others to the squad.

“It is difficult with everyone competing for such a small pool of players but we are confident we will have our squad in place, and the one we want to move forward with, before the season starts.

“It is difficult to predict a time frame. I have always been a firm believer that you get the right players and you don’t just get numbers. A lot of Championship clubs have added numbers to their squads and that is the way they work.

“We like to identify players we want and will try to pursue them until such time as we sign them or they go elsewhere.

“Our existing squad is very strong and, to try to improve it, we need to make sure we get very good players to complement what we already have and that is a difficult task.”

Meanwhile, Howe confirmed Darryl Flahavan, Jayden Stockley and Benji Buchel had all agreed new terms which would kick in once their existing contracts have expired at the end of this month.