Bournemouth chairman Eddie Mitchell has denied receiving any bids for Brett Pitman. Premiership new boys Blackpool reportedly made an offer of £400,000 for the striker, who scored a clinical hat-trick in the 5-1 win over Peterborough last Saturday.

"I was made aware that there were a number of scouts at the game on Saturday and any one of our players could be vulnerable after such a superb performance," he told the Bournemouth Daily Echo. "The fact that so many bigger clubs are looking at our squad speaks for itself.

"If all the decisions were left to me, at this moment in time, I wouldn't entertain talks for any of the players. But football being football, if there were any acceptable bids, we wouldn't want to hold back players.

"If there is interest from a higher level, we are here to help them develop their careers as much as keep together a stable team. In my heart, I would love to keep intact the squad we have at least until the end of the season because I think we could achieve great things."