CHERRIES are understood to have joined the race to sign sought-after Ipswich Town defender Tyrone Mings.

The 22-year old is a target for several clubs with Cherries’ Premier League rivals West Brom and Newcastle among them.

And although Newcastle appeared to be in pole position to sign Mings, Cherries are now believed to be the frontrunners.

The speculation was fuelled yesterday when some sizeable bets were placed on Mings becoming a Cherries player, with his odds slashed to 1-6 by bookmakers SkyBet.

And the rumours intensified after the Daily Echo had revealed reported Cherries loan target Luke Garbutt was no longer understood to be on the club's radar.

Left-back Mings shot to prominence with a host of stellar displays for Ipswich having made the five-tier jump from Southern League outfit Chippenham for just £10,000 in July 2012.

He has also hit the headlines for a series of selfless acts such as spending Christmas Day 2013 feeding the homeless, donating tickets to fans and paying to replace the replica shirts of Ipswich supporters after his squad number had changed.

The former mortgage broker was handed his Championship debut on the last day of 2012-13 in a 2-0 defeat to Burnley and steadily went on to establish himself in Mick McCarthy’s first-team plans.

But it was during last season that he really caught the eye and reportedly became an £8million target for the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea during the January transfer window, with Crystal Palace also said to be interested in his services.

Meanwhile, internet speculation suggested Cherries striker Brett Pitman had been seen in Ipswich today.