CHAIRMAN Eddie Mitchell insists Cherries will keep their options open as their exhaustive search for a new striker looks set to go to the transfer deadline.

Cherries have so far failed in their attempts to bolster their resources – with moves for Crawley’s Matt Tubbs and Brighton’s Will Hoskins both biting the dust in the past 48 hours.

And an eventful sequence of events yesterday also saw Cherries linked with Wycombe’s Stuart Beavon, while the club finally cooled interest in Coventry’s Cody McDonald.

Chairman Mitchell confirmed Cherries had tabled a fresh bid for Tubbs – believed to have been for £500,000 – and was convinced their offer had been accepted.

However, he claimed Crawley had then “moved the goalposts” after demanding an increased figure for Tubbs, who was the subject of two failed bids from Cherries earlier this month.

News of Cherries’ renewed interest in Verwood-raised Tubbs was revealed exclusively by the Daily Echo yesterday morning and later confirmed by Mitchell.

He said: “We did submit an offer around that figure and, all of a sudden, it went up.

“They told us various figures and we matched them. Then, we were told it had gone up, which was a big figure, and we decided to close the door on it.”

Mitchell also revealed Cherries had submitted a bid for Brighton’s Hoskins, who joined the Seagulls in a £500,000 move from Bristol Rovers in the summer.

However, although Cherries’ offer of around £450,000 was understood to have met Brighton’s asking price, the 25-year-old apparently rejected a move to Dorset in favour of staying at the Amex Stadium to fight for his place.

Speaking to the Daily Echo last night, Mitchell said deals for Hoskins and Tubbs could be resurrected should there be a change in either player’s circumstances.

Mitchell also said Cherries were no longer pursuing Coventry frontman McDonald after having had a bid accepted for the 25-year-old earlier this month. McDonald, who was known to be keen on a move to Seward Stadium, saw his chances scuppered due to a knee injury.

Discussing Beavon, Mitchell said: “He is a player we have shown an interest in but it hasn’t gone anywhere.”

Mitchell added the club was now in talks with an unidentified new target.

Meanwhile, Sky Sports were last night reporting Cherries had made a bid for Colchester United midfielder Anthony Wordsworth.