Once upon a time, not that long ago, AFC Bournemouth would have gladly sold Lewis Grabban to anyone dangling cash in their face. Today, that is no longer the case.
From the point of view of the playing squad, it's a statement of intent in terms of where the Club is heading, with Tommy Elphick being quoted on the Clubs Official Web Site as saying: "I was watching proceedings this week as a friend, as a team-mate and as someone who didn’t want to lose Grabbs, because he’s a massive part of this club and of this group. There were a lot of heavy hearts on Friday when he was possibly leaving, so to see his shirt up before the game and his name on the team sheet was a massive lift for everyone. It was like a new signing. It was a statement of intent and shows where this club wants to go and how much they are backing the manager and the players, and the confidence they have in the players. It would have been easy to take the money and look elsewhere. but we all know how important Lewis is to the group and to the team. Strikers cost a lot of money, so it’s a bargain to keep him and hopefully it’s the start of many successful years at Bournemouth for him".