BOSS Eddie Howe is adamant there is “absolutely no chance” of Jermain Defoe making a move away from Cherries.

The Nottingham Post stated Defoe was “among the strikers on the radar” of Nottingham Forest, with the Championship club permitted to make loan signings until Friday’s deadline.

Asked if there was interest from Forest in Defoe, manager Aitor Karanka was quoted in the Post as saying: “As a player, of course. The bigger picture is about whether he wants to come and the salary involved.

“Again, he is not the only name. He is not here and I do not want to speak about him too much but he is amazing as a person. He is a very good player as well.”

Cherries’ attacking options were dealt a body blow when frontman Lys Mousset limped off with a twisted ankle having scored in the 3-0 Carabao Cup win over MK Dons.

Defoe said earlier this month that he was happy at the Dorset club following rumours of loan interest from Rangers in the summer.

Quizzed about the reported interest in Defoe from Forest, Howe told the Daily Echo: “I’m not going to let anyone go. Our squad is our squad. I’ve said before it’s not huge on numbers.

“We have 22 established, first-team players and with a couple of injuries at the moment, Jermain is a valued member of our squad.

“We only have four strikers and that’s not many so there is absolutely no chance (of him leaving).”

Howe revealed concerns over Mousset after the Frenchman was forced off in the second half.

The boss said: “It looks like Lys has twisted his ankle. It looks reasonably serious so we will wait and see.”

Howe also confirmed Marc Pugh had picked up a hamstring injury at the weekend, adding: “He may miss Chelsea but he should be available after the international break.”