Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe insists no moves have been made to bring Chelsea defender John Terry on loan to the Vitality Stadium.

This follows reports linking the Cherries with a surprise temporary deal for the Blues veteran, who has struggled to cement a regular place in Antonio Conte’s side this season.

While Howe is an admirer of the 36-year-old former England skipper, and has seen his own defensive options depleted after Chelsea recalled Nathan Ake early from a season-long loan, he says no deal is currently under consideration.

"There have been no negotiations with Chelsea at all," Howe said ahead of Saturday's Premier League trip to Hull.

"I admire John Terry greatly as a footballer. He was one of my favourite central defenders.

"When I looked at people when I was playing to try and emulate and get close to, he was one that I followed, but there has been no discussions and no meeting, nothing."

Howe also confessed that the loss of Ake is a blow for his side. Since scoring on his first start for the club, away to Stoke in November, the Dutchman flourished in his role within the Bournemouth squad.

"Nathan's exit is disappointing because he had done so well, was producing consistent performances and improving with every game," Howe said.

"To lose him after that work is disappointing, but Chelsea have every right to do that (recall).

"We were thankful to Chelsea for lending him to us in the first place."

Howe has seen his defensive options depleted further with the suspension of Simon Francis, who was shown a red card in the 3-3 draw against Arsenal.

The Bournemouth boss, though, is not about to make any panic buys in the January sales.

"There is no guarantee we will do anything in that position. What we are doing at the moment is assessing our options and seeing which decision we make," he said.

"We have some good players here who can fill that void, so it will be up to them, hopefully in the next game, to show I don't need to sign anyone."

Ake is back at Stamford Bridge after a brief loan spell with the Cherries (Getty)

Bournemouth will have Benik Afobe available again for club duty at Hull following the forward's decision to pull out of DR Congo's African Nations Cup squad.

Howe believes heading to the KCOM Stadium, for what will be a first Premier League match for new manager Marco Silva, is going to be no easy ride despite the Tigers propping up the table.

"We know Hull's qualities and that they've got a lot of experienced players who have been in the Premier League for a long time," Howe said.

"They have had struggles but we know that football can change very quickly and we will need to play like we did at Swansea.

"We know it will be a tough game, but we're looking forward to it."