Wednesday 18 May 2016 06:30, UK
Manager Eddie Howe says Bournemouth have no intention of selling Callum Wilson and Matt Ritchie, after turning down a bid for the pair from West Ham on Monday.
And the Cherries boss has hit out at the timing of the bid, which was made the night before Bournemouth's rearranged season-ending match against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
The fixture was due to be held alongside the remainder of the final-day Premier League schedule on Sunday but had to be called off at short notice due to a bomb scare.
Bournemouth then found themselves rebuffing bids for striker Wilson and midfielder Ritchie, who both started as Howe's men ended up losing 3-1 to the FA Cup finalists.
After the match, Howe said: "We had a bid yesterday [Monday] evening.
"The disappointing thing from my perspective is why the bid has come in a day before a game, our last game of the season. You've got the whole summer to bid for players. I don't understand that.
"I've then got two players in the squad who were due to play and a lot of speculation around their futures, so I think that was bizarre from this club's perspective.
"But the bid was rejected and we have no intention to sell."
Bournemouth finished 16th in their debut Premier League campaign having never looking like being dragged into a relegation fight over the second half of the season. Howe says they are planning to strengthen the squad rather than jettison key players.
"We don't need to sell," he said. "We have a really ambitious owner. We want to try and improve our squad, not weaken it.
"We are desperately trying to move this team forwards and looking at it the other way, bringing recruits in to strengthen what is already a good group. That's the summer we hope to have."
