EDDIE Howe insisted striker Joshua King would be staying put at Cherries and admitted: “We depend on him to perform well.”

The Sun last week linked the 26-year-old with a big-money move to Newcastle United, the tabloid stating the Norway international was top of Rafael Benitez’s transfer targets.

King topped the Cherries score charts with 16 goals last season, his best return in a campaign. And while he has managed just seven this season, he has still featured in 30 of Cherries’ 35 Premier League games.

And boss Howe revealed he had no interest in parting ways with a player who cost just £1million from Blackburn Rovers in the summer of 2015.

Howe told the Daily Echo: “Joshua is a huge part of our plans and a massive player for us. Certainly, he won’t be going anywhere.

“He has played a key role. Last season, he scored a big number of goals and had an outstanding season. Sometimes, to follow that up is difficult because teams become more aware of you and he hasn’t been as free-scoring as he was.

“But he is an important player for the team because he covers many different strengths which we require. He has pace and physicality, he’s technically very good and his versatility is important.

“He probably hasn’t had the run of games which he did last season where he was able to score and really build his confidence levels.

“But I back him to do that in future because there is no doubting his ability. He is an outstanding player and one who will only get better.

"He is someone we depend on to perform well and I expect big things for him next season.”

Asked if King had been bothered by his recent goal tally, Howe said: “I think all strikers are. They want to score.

“But if our attacking players are not scoring, as long as they are contributing in other ways – whether that’s defending from the front or helping us build attacks – I will be pleased with them.

“You have to bring something to the team and Joshua has done that this season.”

The ex-Manchester United man has netted 30 times since moving to Cherries from Ewood Park. In the wake of his 16-goal campaign, he was linked with a move to Tottenham but pledged his future to the Dorset outfit.

Quizzed on whether King had blossomed in the way he had hoped since making the move to the south coast, Howe added: “I have to say, much more so than I could have envisaged.

“We felt he had the potential to be an outstanding player. But whether that will materialise in the Premier League is a different matter.

"He did really well in the first season, which was similar to this season in that he didn’t score the goals which he maybe wanted but played a valuable role.

“In the second season he got the goals and acclaim his performances deserved. And this season he has gone under the radar slightly in terms of what he has delivered for the team.”