CHERRIES have already acted swiftly in the January transfer window, adding two players to their squad within a week of it opening.

James Hill arrived from Fleetwood Town for around £1million, before Manchester United youngster Ethan Laird joined on loan until the end of the season.

But Championship leaders Cherries are still on the lookout for more additions before the window slams shut in less than three weeks' time.

The likes of technical director Richard Hughes, his assistant Simon Francis and the scouting department at Cherries will have been working all year on plans which can be put into action this month.

But one cog in that transfer machine could prove to be Matt Wells.

Cherries' assistant coach to boss Scott Parker, the 32-year-old learnt his craft as a coach at Tottenham Hotspur.

That is where he first worked alongside Parker, before the pair moved onto Fulham and then Cherries.

The former Spurs academy player was in the club’s youth system during an injury-blighted 11-year spell, before focussing on coaching and securing his B licence by the age of 20.

Wells spent time shadowing distinguished coaches Micky Hazard, John McDermott and Alex Inglethorpe, before embarking on a coaching career of his own with Stevenage and the Nike Academy before linking up with Parker.

Inglethorpe, for example, is now academy manager at Liverpool – and Wells is keen to call on those who taught him to help out again.

Speaking last summer shortly after arriving at the club, Wells told Cherries' official podcast: “Alex was a big influence when I first started coaching and made the transition from player to coach.

"He was really good with me.

"Football is a small world. Alex had employed Gary O'Neil (at Liverpool) as one of his coaches and now it ends that I'm working alongside Gary.

"I’m probably lucky, like the gaffer, because of our backgrounds coming through youth systems we’ve got great contacts at the likes of Man United, Tottenham, Liverpool.

“That will hopefully help us attract young players, if we need to do so in the future.”