BOSS Eddie Howe reiterated that Cherries had “no need” to sell players and also revealed none of his current squad had a get-out clause in their contract.

Cherries were obliged to accept Norwich City’s £3million offer for Lewis Grabban earlier this month after the Canaries had triggered a release clause in his deal.

Initially inserted at £1.1m when Grabban first joined Cherries from Rotherham two years ago, the figure increased when the striker negotiated a new contract in January.

However, with no other player in a similar position, Howe will be hoping to avoid any further departures despite interest in some of his prized assets.

Defender Simon Francis and forward Brett Pitman have become the latest players to be linked with a move away from Dean Court, with Derby and Rotherham respectively believed to be interested.

Howe told the Daily Echo: “I have always said I look at bids coming in for our players as a compliment but we have no need to sell any players.

“Lewis had a clause in his contract which we had no power over. Nobody else in the squad has such a clause so we will be looking to keep it together.

“Every situation is different and there were reasons why that clause was there which, without going into too much detail, probably helped us in the end because Lewis had the chance to earn a life-changing amount of money at Norwich and, as a club, we couldn’t stand in the way of that so he went with our best wishes.

“In an ideal world, we wouldn’t have wanted to have lost him. But the club got a good figure in return for his services and I think everyone benefited. The reality was that we couldn’t compete with what Norwich were willing to pay him.”

Meanwhile, Howe and his staff will run the rule over striker Rakish Bingham during pre-season training this coming week.

The 20-year-old, once a target for Manchester City and Newcastle, was released by Wigan at the end of last season.