CHERRIES have dismissed a report which claimed a deal had already been done for striker Benik Afobe to join Wolves on a permanent basis.

Afobe has played his part in helping the Midlands outfit seal a return to the Premier League since moving to Molineux on loan in January.

The 25-year-old has netted six times in his past 10 games, including a stunning strike in their 4-0 win at Bolton on Saturday as they clinched the Championship title.

Afobe penned a four-and-a-half year contract when he joined Cherries from Wolves for a fee of around £9million in January 2016.

A report in The Telegraph earlier this month suggested Wolves were keen to re-sign Afobe for £10m as well as trigger an option to buy fellow loanee Willy Boly from Porto.

However, according to Tuttomercatoweb – an Italian sports news website – agreement has already been reached between the two clubs for the transfer of Afobe.

The report claims the former Arsenal frontman has a clause in his contract to automatically convert his loan into a permanent move in the event of Wolves being promoted to the Premier League.

But when contacted by the Daily Echo earlier today, a Cherries official confirmed there was no substance whatsoever to the story.

In response to a question about Afobe at a press conference six days ago, boss Eddie Howe told the Daily Echo: “His situation is that he will stay with Wolves until the end of the season and then we will sit down and see what happens from there.”

Howe said the same would apply to Lewis Grabban, who is currently enjoying a fruitful loan spell with Championship high-fliers Aston Villa.

Afobe, who has scored 10 goals in 63 Premier League appearances for Cherries, has made no secret of his desire to return to Molineux.

Immediately after securing his deadline-day move, Afobe said he was “glad to be home”. He also revealed he had been planning a social media update about his return “a week before deadline day”.

A post on his official Instagram account showed clips of him scoring goals during his previous spell at Wolves – the first of which was against Cherries in March 2015.

And in an interview with the Express & Star, the forward said it would have been “heartbreaking” had the move fallen through, while he also told the BBC he had been “crying” with happiness after it had gone through.

In another recent interview with the Express & Star, Afobe was quoted as saying “my dream has always been to play for Wolves in the Premier League, so, hopefully, that can happen”.