CHERRIES boss Eddie Howe admitted his dwindling defensive resources may force him to consider adding reinforcements to his squad this month.

Howe originally predicted a quiet transfer window but his stocks have taken a severe hit in the past week, a situation compounded when Nathan Ake returned to parent club Chelsea following six months at Vitality Stadium.

Simon Francis is banned for Cherries' forthcoming Premier League meetings with Hull City and Watford following his controversial red card against Arsenal.

And after Marc Wilson had damaged a hamstring in Saturday’s chastening FA Cup defeat at Millwall, Howe said he was wary of being left short for the remainder of the campaign.

“With the defensive issues we have now, with Marc Wilson injured and Nathan going back, and Simon’s suspension, that’s a big stretch of our defensive resources,” he said.

“That’s something we will look at. We have nothing imminent at the moment, but we will wait and see.”

Howe confessed the number of signings he made ahead of this campaign – Cherries brought in eight first-team players, including loan pair Ake and Jack Wilshere – was a factor in a completely changed side’s failure to gel during their cup exit.

But he revealed the absence of Ake and Francis influenced his thinking ahead of the clash with Millwall and he has no fears about integrating any additional recruits into his team.

“The Premier League does take priority, especially with a couple of things that happened at the weekend,” said Howe.

“With Simon Francis’s suspension, it was a difficult team to pick. We didn’t want to take too many risks.

“Nathan’s situation was another reason why we felt, especially defensively, we were forced to make the changes we did.

“Individually, a lot of the players who played at Millwall, if they had been surrounded by players who had played our way for a long period of time, would have fitted in very well."

Howe does not envisage the disappointment of his side’s cup surrender spilling over into their league campaign.

“We will be selecting totally different players in the league so I don’t see that being an issue,” he said.

“We have some massive games to come and we know the importance of every game.”

Liverpool defensive duo Joe Gomez and Mamadou Sakho are both reportedly on Howe's radar.

Gomez joined the Merseyside club in June 2015 after one season in Charlton Athletic’s first team.

The 19-year-old excelled in his first few months at Anfield, nailing down a starting spot, either at left-back or in the middle of defence.

His progress was checked, however, when he damaged an anterior cruciate ligament playing for England under-21s.

Gomez's recovery was hampered by a pre-season Achilles injury, but he played his first game since October 2015 in Liverpool’s FA Cup stalemate with Plymouth on Sunday.

France international Sakho has fallen out of favour under Reds boss Jurgen Klopp.

The 26-year-old has not played for Liverpool since their 4-0 victory over Merseyside rivals Everton on April 20.