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Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola has praised defender Lloyd Kelly for his attitude after missing out on a move to Tottenham Hotspur.
Lloyd Kelly has ‘trained really well’ with Bournemouth having seen Tottenham Hotspur go quiet on a late transfer.
Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola has moved to praise defender Kelly having missed out on a move to Spurs.
Tottenham were in the market for a homegrown defender before the summer transfer deadline having also targeted Fulham’s Tosin Adarabioyo and Chelsea’s Trevoh Chalobah.
Kelly was one target for Spurs and TalkSPORT’s Alex Crook reported that Tottenham did launch a £20million bid for the Bournemouth star.
The Cherries didn’t sell and Tottenham then went completely quiet, meaning no deal was done before the deadline.
Andoni Iraola praises Tottenham target Lloyd Kelly
Kelly is now featuring for Bournemouth as normal, starting in Sunday’s 0-0 draw against Chelsea.
The 24-year-old turned in an impressive display, helping Bournemouth keep a clean sheet whilst shackling the likes of Raheem Sterling and Nicolas Jackson.
Kelly looks set to play a key role for Bournemouth moving forward, possibly ahead of Marcos Senesi as the club’s main left-footed centre back.
Boss Iraola has now moved to praise Kelly, telling Sky Sports that he has trained ‘really well’ since missing out on that move to Tottenham.
Iraola accepts that deadline day was probably difficult for Kelly and a couple of over Bournemouth players, now thinks he is ‘really focused’ on the Cherries.
“He has trained really well these past two weeks,” said Iraola. “They have been very good weeks for him because he came from an injury and he needed the workload. We were here just training with nine or 10 players so we could focus more on them. They have been really successful weeks for him.”
“Probably the last day of the market was difficult, not only for him but also for Kieffer and Jaidon Anthony. But once the market is closed, I think everyone is really focused, willing to push and he is ready to help us,” he added.
Liverpool and Newcastle United could now move for Lloyd Kelly
Tottenham may well return for Kelly in January but they look set to meet fierce competition for his signature.
90Min reported earlier this month that both Liverpool and Newcastle United are rekindling their interest in Kelly.
Liverpool liked Kelly during his Bristol City days and may be in the market for a left-footed defender.
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe signed Kelly for Bournemouth and may fancy reuniting with him in 2024.
The race for Kelly’s signature appears to be hotting up, but much will depend on how he performs ahead of the January window.