EDDIE Howe insisted his full focus was on guiding Cherries through a hectic December period rather than worrying about possible transfers in January.

The Cherries boss has four Premier League fixtures before the window opens at the turn of the year, starting with tomorrow’s trip to Chelsea (3pm).

Howe this week said keeping his squad together could be “out of our control” with Nathan Ake heavily linked with a January switch to the Blues.

But the manager stressed his concentration was on the here and now, rather than pondering about the window.

Asked how much say he did have on transfers, Howe replied: “I think regarding every transfer, there’s not one person solely in control of anything.

“If people want to go off on tangents on that, that’s fine.

“But from my side I’m working as hard as I can every day to get the best possible result for this team, through a very, very congested fixture period.

“January will take care of itself when January comes. From our perspective now, let’s not worry about that, let’s concentrate on today.”

Ahead of the January window, the Dorset club host Burnley and Arsenal before visiting Brighton to round off 2019.