CHERRIES boss Eddie Howe insists hotshot striker Joshua King will not be leaving the club this summer.

Speculation has mounted over King’s future during a prolific run of form that has seen him score 12 goals since the turn of the year.

Tottenham are the latest club to be linked with a move for the 25-year-old, who penned a fresh four-year Vitality Stadium deal last August.

But Howe claims he has the backing of “everybody within the club” in his quest to keep hold of his key performers. As such, he is not expecting to lose King, even if the Champions League big-hitters come calling for the former Blackburn man’s services.

Asked if it would be hard for Cherries to resist interest in the player from the likes of Tottenham, Howe said: “No, I don’t think so. Our vision is very clear for where we want to take the team and what we want to do.

“I have made it clear several times that we need to keep our best players and I have the backing from everybody within the club to do that.”

King’s sudden goal rush – he has scored 11 in his past 12 games and 15 this term, having netted only 12 league goals in his entire career ahead of the 2016/17 campaign – has caught some pundits by surprise.

His manager, though, says the forward’s productive form is merely the culmination of an enormous amount of hard work.

“His professionalism when he first came into the club struck me,” said Howe. “Joshua looked after his body and displayed an incredible appetite to improve. He was coming in on his days off when he wasn’t in the team.

“He would do extra finishing sessions and was pushing himself to find the next bit in his game he needed to work on. You don’t get instant rewards. He has done these things since he joined us and it is paying off now.”

Howe must find a new strike partner for King when Cherries host Stoke on Saturday (3pm), with Benik Afobe ruled out by the hamstring injury he sustained at Sunderland last week.

But the manager – who confirmed teenage striker Sam Surridge will be in his squad – is happy with the alternatives at his disposal, in particular Lys Mousset, who emerged from the bench to play a vital role in Cherries’ winning goal on Wearside seven days ago.

“Lys is hugely talented,” said Howe, who also revealed Dan Gosling’s calf problem hasn’t cleared up in time for him to be involved against Stoke. “He is a very good finisher and he has different strengths to our other strikers. He is very strong, he uses his body well and he has a bright future in the game.

“It was great to see him come on last week and directly influence the result. That will have done him the world of good.

“Max Gradel, Ryan Fraser and Jordon Ibe have played centrally, and Sam Surridge’s game is in a good place, so we have options.”