CHERRIES starlet Nathan Moriah-Welsh is targeting a loan move to a Football League club this month, with the Guyana international hoping to reach 50 league appearances by the end of the season.

After making his Cherries debut in the FA Cup under Scott Parker during the 2021/22 season, Moriah-Welsh spent last campaign on loan at League Two outfit Newport County.

Whilst in south Wales, the 21-year-old made a further 46 professional senior appearances, scoring three times in 38 league matches.

The versatile midfielder had been set to go back out on loan this summer, but an injury sustained whilst on international duty with Guyana scuppered plans.

However, now that Moriah-Welsh is fully fit and impressing for Cherries’ development squad in the Professional Development League, the former Reading man is confident of reaching his target of 50 league games by the end of the season.

He told the Daily Echo: “I just want to get out and play as much football as possible.

“For me, the target is just to get to 50 League games by the end of the season, which is doable. Hopefully if something comes up that suits the club and suits me, we can hopefully get it done.

“But definitely looking at getting out on loan and just playing as much football as possible.”  

Whilst youth football will pale in comparison to competitive senior games, Moriah-Welsh’s return to Cherries from his loan spell coincided with the upgrade in academy status to Category Two.

That now means Cherries’ development squad compete in regular league matches, a more consistent schedule compared to prior years.

Moriah-Welsh believes the competitive games are keeping him ticking over, adding: “I think it’s the same kind of format I had at Newport last year.

“It was Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday a lot.

“So to come back to Bournemouth and obviously do that again in a way, sometimes, it might be Saturday, Saturday or Tuesday, Tuesday, it's still kind of the same format of winning games and having to every week come out and perform to get three points.”

The competitiveness of Professional Development League games was highlighted last Friday, when Cherries came out on top of a topsy-turvy encounter with Cardiff City to win 3-2 at New Cuthbury.

“Cardiff historically, from what I've seen, have been a feisty team, very, very physical and very counter-attacking at times,” continued Moriah-Welsh.

“It was a good game.

“Credit to their players because they put on a real fight for us.

“We had to fight back twice to get the win in the end.

“It was a good game overall.”