Cherries boss, Scott Parker, has revealed Lloyd Kelly could be "a top Premier League" player ahead of the Dorset club's crucial Championship clash with Fulham on Saturday.
Cherries boss, Scott Parker, has revealed Lloyd Kelly could be "a top Premier League" player ahead of the Dorset club's crucial Championship clash with Fulham on Saturday.
In the pre-match press conference on ahead of the visit of the Cottagers, Parker notably put much praise on club-captain Kelly, who has received some stick from sections of the Bournemouth fanbase in recent weeks.
The 23-year-old has made waves in the Championship since his league debut for Bristol City in 2017, with Parker saying Kelly “has the ability to be a top Premier League centre-half”.
He added: “you take players like him for granted in the sense that he makes things look effortless and easy."
In regards to absences for the game, Parker said that Kieffer Moore and Jordan Zemura will both be unavailable for the match, with the manager adding that “hopefully both players will be back within a week to 10 days”.
Parker also confirmed that Junior Stanislas will miss the remainder of the season after suffering a slipped disc during his recovery.
Parker is now looking to get the 32-year-old “prepared for summer and to get him back for pre-season”.
In terms of how Bournemouth will approach this clash, against Parker's former team Fulham, the Cherries head coach noted about having options, alluding to games such as Coventry last weekend where the Cherries adopted a back-five.
Bournemouth may well deploy a more pragmatic approach as the game progresses against Fulham and leading goal scorer Dominic Solanke will be looking to add to his tlly of 26 gols or the campaign with the Cherries on the brink of securing promotion back to the Premier League.
The game will kick-off at 3pm on Saturday at the Vitality Stadium, where a win for Bournemouth could also blow open the title fight with Fulham nine points ahead of Parker's side having played an extra game.
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