On the Football League loan window closing, Rhoys Wiggins has submitted a transfer request having been linked with Championship side Watford who were prepared to sign the left back on loan, with a view to making it permanent in the Summer.
Speaking in the Bournemouth Evening Echo, Wiggins is quoted as saying: "I was told early on that if ever a club from a higher league came in, Bournemouth wouldn’t stand in my way. I was told, more or less when I first came down, that other players wouldn’t be sold and would be kept, and a few players have gone. After a few players did go, in January I went in again because I had interest from another club, not Watford, and was told nobody else was going anywhere, so I accepted that. Then another player departed".
On behlaf of the Club, Eddie Mitchell is quoted as saying: "You know where we are in the league and you know we are in a position to push for at least the play-offs and that is one of the reasons we declined them. The other reason was the offers were miles away from what we value him at. The offer was too light and we want to keep him anyway. We couldn’t replace him for what they offered us so what is the point in selling him? We are an ambitious club and we want to be challenging Watford next season, not selling them our players now".
Manager Lee Bradbury is quoted as saying: "We are trying to keep the lads together, build the club and add additions to it that are going to be positive for us. We don’t want to be selling any of our players. Rhoys has been influential this season and different class for us. To sell him would be very negative from our point of view. For him, it is attractive because it is a Championship club that is going places and it is close to home for him. But from our point of view, we want to keep him. He is a valuable asset for us and a great player with a great future. I want him to knuckle down and put in 100 per cent for the rest of the season and see where it takes us. We have got a job to finish and that is down to every one of us".
The offer being made is reported to be in the region of £150,000, with the Cherries valuing Wiggins at more than twice that value.