Eddie Howe is prepared for Bournemouth to hold their nerve and “do nothing” in the January transfer window.

The Cherries boss insists the Dean Court outfit are “not actively in the market” for new players this month – and Howe also wants to retain
all his top talents too.

Striker Benik Afobe and midfielder Harry Arter have been linked with moves away from the south coast, but Howe remains adamant both retain pivotal
roles at Bournemouth.

Arter had been linked with West Ham, Bournemouth’s Premier League opponents in London on Saturday, but Howe continues to insist the Ireland midfielder is going nowhere.

Asked if neither Afobe nor Arter are for sale, Howe said: “Yes, that’s the case.

“The situation’s not changed. We’ve had no bids for our players, and we’re not actively in the market.

“I think Harry (Arter) is fine, the pleasing thing from the game against Wigan, you can see it from the performance, he was absolutely motivated to play, to win, and to give his best.

“I thought he was very committed against Wigan, and he was one of the bright spots.

“I’d say Benik’s scored some absolutely crucial goals for us. That should never be forgotten.

“I back Benik, he’s got a big part to play here.

“There’s always pressure on you as a manager to change, to change players, to sign players. That’s what everyone wants.

“I always go back to when we were in the Championship that January, there was a lot of talk about loads of different players coming in for that final push. We only signed one, Kenwyne Jones.

“Sometimes you have to do nothing. We achieved promotion that season by almost doing nothing; not changing too much.

“We didn’t change, and that’s one of the reasons why we achieved our goals.

“Some teams that did change, fell away.”

Alexis Sanchez’s pending big-money move to Manchester United from Arsenal has underscored the increasing power of top stars to command ever-rising wages as their contracts wind down.

Arsenal look set to cash in on receiving a fee for Sanchez now, rather than the Chile striker leaving in the summer when his contract expires.

United’s expected cut-price transfer fee has allowed the Red Devils to offer the 29-year-old a bumper wage package, and Howe believes such deals do affect the overall transfer market.

“There is a reaction, and unfortunately for us it means everything gets more expensive,” said Howe, of the Sanchez deal.

“It just makes everything more expensive from our perspective.

“And that makes this window from our perspective, very, very difficult to recruit anybody.

“I don’t think you can begrudge anybody, if someone’s willing to give you those wages then fair play to the player for achieving that.

“But I’m a bit old-school. I don’t think anyone’s worth the money they’re paid in the Premier League currently, but you have to adapt to the market.”