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Jemain Defoe will not be joining Nottingham Forest before Friday’s loan window closes.

That’s the message from Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe, who revealed the 35-year-old striker is a valuable member of the Cherries’ Premier League squad, suggesting there was ‘no chance’ of him leaving the Vitality Stadium for Nottingham.

Defoe has been strongly linked with a move to the City Ground following the departure of Ben Brereton on Tuesday night, but Howe has moved to quash the speculation.

“I’m not going to let anyone go. Our squad is our squad. I’ve said before it’s not huge on numbers,” said Howe after his team beat MK Dons 3-0 in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday, a game in which Defoe played 86 minutes, just his second outing of the season.

(Image: Alex Morton/Getty Images)

Reds boss Aitor Karanka spoke in glowing terms of Defoe at his pre-match press conference ahead Forest’s clash with Newcastle, calling the former West Ham frontman an ‘amazing person’, though now any deal looks to be dead in the water, given Howe’s comments.

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

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

(Image: Getty)

If Defoe isn’t available, Forest will turn to other options on their shortlist which include Norwich City’s Nelson Oliveira and Middlesbrough’s Rudy Gestede.

The Reds had also been linked with Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham, though Blues boss Maurizio Sarri suggested the youngster would remain at Stamford Bridge until January at least.