Cherries director Tom Mitchell has joined boss Lee Bradbury in hitting out at claims the club shelled out £800,000 for striker Matt Tubbs.

Mitchell and Bradbury have both suggested the fee – reported by the Daily Echo after Tubbs had signed from Crawley on Monday – was wide of the mark.

Sources claimed Cherries stumped up a down-payment of £700,000 for the 28-year-old striker with the remainder based on appearances.

While neither club announced a fee, Crawley co-owner Ian Carter described it as “a very significant amount”. He also said the Reds would be respecting Cherries’ wishes to keep details of the deal confidential.

In a statement published on the club website yesterday, Tom Mitchell said: “Some of the figures bandied about for what we paid for Matt Tubbs are way off the mark. People can say we paid £800,000 for him, but it was nowhere near that.

“It can be frustrating to see those figures in the papers but we know the truth. The board and the manager know where we have come from and they don’t want to waste a penny.”

Asked whether Cherries’ reputation as big spenders had hindered their transfer dealings, Mitchell replied: “Perhaps it has become more difficult for us because other clubs think we have a lot of money and can take us for a ride but we won’t pay over the odds for any player.”

Mitchell added: “We will review how we approached the window but I don’t think there is much we would change. We’ve gone about our business in the right way and have brought in seven quality players who are capable of improving and playing at a higher level.”