KEVIN Bond is hoping to persuade Josh Gowling to extend his stay at Dean Court - even though the highly-rated Cherries star appears to be keeping his options open.

Bond has already held talks with Gowling regarding a new deal although the defender has indicated he would be reluctant to commit himself beyond his existing contract.

The 23-year-old, who has made an impressive start to the new season, would be entitled to leave on a free transfer next summer unless he agrees fresh terms in the meantime.

Bond told the Daily Echo: "We need to start thinking about what we want to do and we would like to extend his contract.

"I've had discussions with him and his representatives, and, at this stage, he doesn't want to commit himself.

"He said he wants to be sure that we can match his ambitions and I would hope to convince him in the coming months that we can.

"He wants to go as high as he can, and, as a club, we want to be as high as we can as well. But we are somewhat limited as to how much money we can throw at it.

"We all understand that and have to work within certain parameters so he is going to see how things pan out for us in the coming months before he makes a decision."

With a number of players out of contract next summer, Bond was asked whether securing Gowling was a priority.

He replied: "Josh has done particularly well in the first few games of the season and I would be keen to get him signed up. I think he's got a lot of improvement in him and I think he certainly has improved and got to grips with what's required of a centre-half over the past few months.

"If we are looking to move forward as a football club and as a team, he is potentially somebody who you would want to move forward with.

"I am keen to hang on to our good players and he is a good player who is hopefully becoming more consistent, which was what he needed to do."

Asked whether the club had tabled an offer to Gowling, Bond replied: "We didn't get that far. We asked if we could offer him a contract and he didn't want to go there at this moment in time but he didn't rule out the possibility of signing at a later stage.

"Hopefully, our performances on the field and the people we get in during the coming months can convince him that Bournemouth is a good club in terms of his development.

"I've got nothing against people who want to get on and improve, we all want to do that. It shows the boy is ambitious and wants to do well.

"As long as he knuckles down and continues to do the job then he will do well. I hope we've helped him in doing that and I hope, in the long-term, he can see that we will continue to help him and be good for his future."