PETERBOROUGH director of football Barry Fry has claimed that Cherries have made two separate bids for Posh striker Siriki Dembele.

Reports earlier this week suggested that Cherries had made a formal approach for the Ivorian-born striker, with Fry’s comments seemingly confirming those rumours.

The former Grimsby Town forward will be out of contract in the summer, with clubs allowed to offer contracts to the player from February 1 onwards.

However, Cherries are seemingly looking to bolster their squad immediately for their promotion push.

Boss Scott Parker has been a fan of Dembele since he started his managerial career with Fulham - at least according to Fry.

Speaking to Posh’s club media, Fry said: “Siriki and his agent came to see me and we had a long discussion about things.

“The next day we had a bid from Bournemouth which we turned down immediately and the day after that we had another bid which we also rejected.

“Bournemouth are managed by Scott Parker who was always keen on Siriki when he was at Fulham.

“Siriki can sign a pre-contract with whoever he likes on February 1, but he could also get his head down and show his best form us for the rest of this season.

“Bournemouth might be back again, but I will be glad when the transfer window shuts next week (January 31) as it’s unsettling for players and speculation is doing us no good in our situation.”

Cherries are still tracking multiple players, with the side still very keen on Cardiff City’s Kieffer Moore. Whilst the Dorset club were unwillingly to meet Cardiff’s initial £10m price-tag, reports suggests that progress is being made in terms of a transfer fee.

Derby County captain Tom Lawrence is another top target for Cherries, but the situation at the troubled club poses an issue with negotiations.

The club are also keeping an eye on Blackburn’s Joe Rothwell, who is another player out of contract in the summer.

TALKsport are reporting that Cherries have made a bid worth more than £2m for the midfielder, who was omitted from Blackburn’s win over Middlesbrough last night due to a reported back injury.