Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe refuses to rule out Josh King moving to Man Utd

Bournemouth have rejected a bid from Manchester United for Josh King, but manager Eddie Howe refuses to rule out the deal still being done before Friday’s transfer deadline.

An approach from the Red Devils for the 28-year-old was turned away by the Cherries on Thursday, but Howe could not guarantee that King will still be his player on Saturday.

King was a Manchester United player from 2008-13, signing for the club as a 16-year-old, and Howe recognises he has a connection with the Old Trafford side that could make a return all the more attractive to him.

‘It’s a difficult one for me to comment too much on. I’m not going to deny anything that you’ve read but I don’t want to talk too much about it,’ said the Bournemouth boss.

‘There’s still a day to go, who knows what’s going to happen between now and the deadline closing.

‘Josh is much valued and loved by us and obviously another club has seen how good he is, so let’s wait and see.

‘He’s a massive part of our team and has been for a long period of time. He brings that unique pace and strength that he has, coupled with a really good technical ability and an eye for goal.

‘He’s been a massive part of what we’ve done here in the last few years, he can play a number of positions as well, and that versatility is key.

‘As the manager of the club I’d be very reluctant to lose a player of that quality.

‘The difficulty from our perspective is how late it is in the window. A day to go, is incredibly difficult to find a replacement for a player of that quality.

‘It’s not my call at the end of the day, that’s going to be between the chief executive and the owner, a lot of these things are out of my control.

‘I love Josh as a player and a person, respect him greatly.

‘I know his situation, what Manchester United means to him, with his history connected to the club, I understand his position.

‘Let’s wait and see.’

King is well known by fellow Norwegian Ole Gunnar Solskjaer who was in charge of Manchester United reserves while the striker was at the club.

‘I’ve followed Josh since he came to United and before then when he was 15 or 16,’ said Solskjaer in November. ‘He has developed into a top player and is doing well for Bournemouth and Norway.’

Born in Oslo, King has 46 caps for Norway, scoring 17 goals.