MANAGER Eddie Howe insists Cherries will be “very selective” with their transfer targets and says the club will conduct their business “discreetly”.

Cherries were linked with a host of possible signings in the lead up to the opening of the transfer window and the speculation is set to continue until it closes early next month.

One of the strongest rumours suggested Cherries had seen a bid of £1.5million rejected by Birmingham City for 18-year-old winger Demarai Gray.

The story was published by the Daily Mail, which had also claimed Cherries were “trying to negotiate a £5million deal for Wigan’s Callum McManaman”.

Other players to have been linked with Cherries include former Dean Court striker Sam Vokes, Leicester’s Chris Wood, Jed Wallace from Portsmouth and Inverness winger Marley Watkins.

Asked by the Daily Echo for his take on the rumours, Howe said: “With our league position and the opening of the window, there has been a lot of speculation which has been factually incorrect.

“We always do our business behind closed doors and away from the newspapers. We feel that is the best way to do it and will do whatever work we do discreetly.

“We have said openly that we are looking at players but want to be very selective about any potential targets we bring to the football club. They certainly won’t be huge in numbers if we sign anyone at all.

“We won’t be commenting on anything until after we have agreed to sign a player and the player has signed on the dotted line. That is the only time we will be talking.”

Howe added: “If we were to do anything, we would love to bring in real quality. The lads have done so well and have performed at such a high level that to find better players is extremely difficult at this stage of the season and especially in this window when prices are quite high.

“We are looking and we are active in the market but it has to be the right player. Not only would they have to improve the squad but they would also have to fit in which I think is so important when we have a lovely balance to our squad, on and off the pitch.

“There are a lot of factors to consider, including the financial ones. The hardest part is trying to find better players than the ones we have because we are top of the Championship on merit at the moment.

“It is going to be a very difficult window for us. We would love to give the squad a boost and bring in one or two players that really give everybody a lift and take the team to the next level. We will have to wait and see whether we are able to do that.”