5 Lewis Grabban alternatives Bournemouth should consider

Ask any Bournemouth fan and Cherries manager Eddie Howe can do no wrong. Regular visitors to Dean Court wouldn’t bat an eyelid if they saw him walking on the water around Boscombe Pier.

However, the highly-rated manager’s credentials could be called into question if he continues his latest line of transfer questioning with regard to Lewis Grabban.

Grabban left for Norwich for £3m at the start of the 2014/15 season and netted 12 goals for the Canaries but is yet to score since winning promotion to the Premier League.

By contrast, his Cherries replacement – Callum Wilson – hit 23 as Bournemouth won the Championship last year and announced himself on the big stage with a Premier League hat-trick against West Ham last week.

Howe remains in the market for another striker but with Grabban offering a similar style to Wilson and Norwich turning down a bid of £6m perhaps it’s time for the Cherries boss to start looking elsewhere.

Here are 5 players Ladbrokes News thinks Howe could be better off signing than his former charge.

Dwight Gayle – Crystal Palace

While Gayle may also be a similar player to Wilson, the 24-year-old has proven he can score regularly in the top flight and Palace appear to be willing to sell.

The former Peterborough man recently turned down a move to Bristol City stating he wants to remain in the Premier League. Valued at £9m, the man who netted 10 Premier League strikes last term could have what it takes to ensure Bournemouth’s survival.

Loic Remy – Chelsea

The Blues ace hasn’t featured at all since the Community Shield and with the arrival of Pedro from Barcelona must be itching to get away from Stamford Bridge.

He may have loftier ambitions than running out at the Vitality Stadium but let’s face it it’s a step up from Loftus Road these days.

A successful loan spell at Newcastle – 14 goals in 26 games – shows what regular football brings out of the Frenchman and with a Transfermrkt.com value of under £9m he too could be an option.

Dimitar Berbatov – Free agent

Already linked with Bournemouth this season the former Tottenham, Manchester United and Monaco man now finds himself without a club.

At 34 he may be getting towards the end of his playing days but the Bulgarian was never blessed with pace and could be the perfect foil to the speed of Wilson, Joshua King and Max Gradel.

Rumoured wages of £100,000 per week could prove a stumbling block, but with no transfer fee required he could prove a bargain, even on a salary so high.

Glenn Murray – Crystal Palace

Another Palace striker but this time one who has already been the subject of bids from Bournemouth.

Murray scored an impressive seven goals in 15 top flight appearances for the Eagles last year but could find game time hard to come by after the signing of Connor Wickham. Available at for a reported £1.75m he represents the bargain of the bunch.

Javier Hernandez – Manchester United

Having plied his trade at the Bernabeu last year this one might be farfetched but with Marouane Fellaini getting the nod up front ahead of Chicharito the Mexican could angle for a move before deadline day.

With his contract expiring at the end of the season, the Little Pea could be available for around £7m and if Bournemouth are willing to pay that for Grabban surely a speculative bid for Hernandez would be worth it.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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