Bournemouth confirm deal for Wolves hitman Afobe

Benik Afobe: Signed for Bournemouth

Benik Afobe: Signed for Bournemouth

Bournemouth have agreed a deal with Wolves to sign striker Benik Afobe, believed to be in the region of £10million.

Boss Eddie Howe confirmed the Cherries have finalised an agreement for the 22-year-old and it is understood the player is due to have a medical this weekend.

Afobe held talks with Bournemouth on Friday and Howe hopes to have him available for Tuesday’s Barclays Premier League visit of West Ham.

Following Bournemouth’s 2-1 FA Cup win at Birmingham, Howe said: “A deal has been agreed. At this stage there are hurdles to overcome, he will have a medical and we hope to get the deal done in time for Tuesday.

“He will bring pace, strength, goals and he’s a good technical player as well. He has the whole package. We’re very excited to see him in a Bournemouth shirt.”

Glenn Murray scored the Cherries’ winner at St Andrew’s to send them into the fourth round but Howe believes he needed another forward as Callum Wilson is out for the season with a knee injury and Josh King is struggling with hamstring issues.

He said: “I felt we needed a striker. Callum we lost and that was a huge blow to us and we have lost Josh King with hamstring problems. It has left us very light and we need firepower. We need players who can come in and do the job.

“The players we have here proved they can do a job – Murray came off the bench and scored and it was good to see Lee Tomlin score. But we are light on the ground and hopefully he (Afobe) will add competition for places and real quality in the position.”

Afobe joined Wolves for £2million from Arsenal only last January and has scored 23 goals in 48 games for the club. He has 10 in 27 outings this season for the Sky Bet Championship side.

Howe refused to confirm the fee but Wolves boss Kenny Jackett said it was a sizeable figure and Afobe will leave a gap in his squad.

“Benik Afobe is in talks with Bournemouth about a potential transfer, we have accepted their bid. The fee is undisclosed but it is a significant amount,” he said, after Wolves’ 1-0 FA Cup defeat at West Ham.

“Of course we will miss him, he’s our top scorer and you only have to look at what he has done for us in a short time here. Finding those forwards who make a difference is a tough thing, that’s why you have to work hard to keep them.”