Bournemouth's technical director Simon Francis says that interest in the club's star players is testament to the job the Cherries have done with recruitment, and the performance of Andoni Iraola's team.

Bournemouth are eighth in the Premier League and players such as Dean Huijsen, Milos Kerkez and Antoine Semenyo are just three of the players rumoured to have attracted the gaze of clubs across Europe.

"We end up being a victim of our own success really," he said.

"There will be bigger teams circling around and looking at some of our players. There will be some situations we can't control, but there will be others we can.

"I'm confident that if we finish well this season, and that could mean European football, then the players will be excited about that. It would be historic.

"But there will also be some players that want to go and play for some of the biggest teams in the world, and sometimes you can't stand in their way.

"All we can hope now is that we finish this season on a high. The players are focused on that - I don't think their attention is anywhere else at the moment. Then we have to accept that in the summer, there will be discussions."

On 20-year-old Huijsen, who only arrived at Vitality Stadium from Juventus in the summer, Francis said: "He's had an amazing season. His most impressive attribute is his mentality. Everyone is aware of the noise around him but for him to stay so focused at his age has been admirable.

"He's not once changed his mentality around the group. I think that's partly down to the fact the group will keep him grounded anyway because we are a team and no individual is bigger than the team.

"The idea was for him to come in as back-up and learn, but through injury there was the opportunity for him to come into the team and he's been there ever since.

"For a player who has just turned 20, he reads the game and plays the game like he is 30 years old. He's impressive."