CHERRIES spent £1,451,647 on agents’ fees between October 2015 and February 2016, figures released by the Premier League have revealed.

During this period, more than £46m was spent on agents by the 20 clubs currently in the Premier League. The amounts include payments made by clubs on behalf of players.

Boss Eddie Howe bolstered his squad with four additions during the mid-season transfer window in an attempt to boost Cherries’ chances of preserving their Premier League status.

Record signing Benik Afobe arrived in a £9million move from Wolves in January and the striker immediately started to repay his sizeable fee by scoring three times in his first four games.

Cherries also paid fees to registered intermediaries to bring in Lewis Grabban from Norwich, Rhoys Wiggins from Sheffield Wednesday and for the loan signing of Juan Iturbe from Roma.

The figure also includes contact renegotiations with Marc Pugh, Andrew Surman, Simon Francis and Matt Butcher agreeing new deals during the period.

Cherries were 11th in the Premier League spending chart with Manchester United topping the list on £10,023,318 and Everton bottom with £471,400.

Boss Howe told the Daily Echo: "We were aware we needed points early and that was the thinking behind our January.

"The focus on our recruitment was to make sure we tried to get players in early so we gave ourselves the best chance. Our fixtures at the end of the season were so demanding that we needed a cushion.

"That was not so say we wrote off these games. They are big games and we want to do well."