Cherries chairman Eddie Mitchell has admitted player sales could be “inevitable” – with the Daily Echo predicting captain Jason Pearce could be the first to go.

Pearce has been strongly linked with Championship new boys Peterborough, with speculation intensifying since it was first revealed by the Daily Echo on Twitter on Tuesday.

The Sun newspaper yesterday claimed Pearce was a £500,000 target for Posh who toppled Huddersfield to win the League One play-off final at Old Trafford five days ago.

And Peterborough boss Darren Ferguson looks set to see off some strong competition to secure the services of the commanding defender, possibly over the weekend.

Sources suggest the fee could be paid in instalments with the deal including a sizeable sell-on for a player Cherries signed on a free transfer from Portsmouth in 2007.

Should the move not come to fruition, Pearce is also understood to be wanted by Millwall and Doncaster, with new Barnsley boss Keith Hill also known to be a keen admirer of the 23-year-old.

Hill, during his time as manager of Rochdale, is understood to have made a tentative enquiry with Cherries to swap Pearce for striker Chris O’Grady, his request politely dead-batted.

Pearce, who will start next season serving a three-match ban following his red card in the play-off semi-final, capped a memorable campaign by being crowned supporters’ player of the year.

Discussing the prospect of selling players – but not specifically Pearce – Mitchell told the Daily Echo: “We have been under considerable pressure from players and other clubs. Players are always looking to better themselves and we have a good stock so other clubs are interested. That I can’t deny.

“It is better to have this type of pressure than to have gone down and have everybody wanting to abandon the place. We have got to keep the good players coming through, stabilise and hold together the team. But there are going to be times when you are successful and you won’t be able to because everybody is ambitious.”

Asked whether he was resigned to losing players, Mitchell replied: “I think it is inevitable. Players leave clubs and move around. I don’t want them to move and we have no desire or financial need for them to move. We have to consider every aspect of a player when they move to a bigger club.

“People are going to want the best players and it just so happens we have got a few of the best ones in our division. I am resigned to possibly losing one or two but it is for us to work hard to replace them. We are all in this to build and I don’t want us to always be a selling club.”

Mitchell, meanwhile, confirmed the club was next week due to hold talks with three potential new signings, although declined to reveal their identities.