ALEX Scott says departing Lloyd Kelly will be “a massive loss” to Cherries, describing him as a “friend for life”.

Kelly confirmed he will be leaving Cherries this summer on a free transfer, upon the expiry of his contract.

Cherries did what they could to try and convince the 25-year-old to stay, having turned down a £20million bid for him from Tottenham Hotspur towards the end of last summer’s transfer window.

But Kelly has decided now is the time to move on, with Newcastle United his heavily reported next destination.

Kelly, who can play centre-back or left-back, joined Cherries from Bristol City in 2019 and after some initial injury issues, established himself as a key part of the team under various managers.

He notably captained the club to promotion from the Championship in the 2021-22 season, under Scott Parker.

Bournemouth Echo: Lloyd Kelly is set to leave Cherries on a free transfer

And midfielder Scott, who himself moved from Bristol City to Cherries last summer, is sad to see Kelly go.

Asked about the exit of Kelly, Scott told the Daily Echo: “A massive loss. First of all, what a player he is.

“On his day, he’s unbelievable and we see it in training every day.

“What a servant for the club. He’s been here for five years now, was here in that promotion season and was vital to that.

“He’s played more than 50 games in the Premier League, so a top, top player and someone I’m very close with off the pitch as well.

“He’s helped me massively. So have all the lads to be fair.”

The 20-year-old added: “He's a great guy and whatever happens with him in the summer I’ll be happy for him.

“I know we’re always going to be in contact, because I think that’s definitely a friend for life there.”

Kelly’s 141st and last appearance in a Cherries shirt came as a substitute on the final day of the Premier League season, in a 2-1 defeat at Chelsea.

Scott himself also came off the bench for the closing stages of the contest, with Cherries narrowly missing out on coming home with a share of the spoils, talisman Dominic Solanke firing over in stoppage time.

“I think, especially at the end, Dom’s chance was a big one,” recalled Scott.

“Obviously can’t fault him too much, he’s got about 20 goals this season for us and pulled us out of some tough times.

“But it was a very open game, even from the first half, it was very back and forth and two very good teams on the transitions.

“It was very open, it could’ve gone either way and they nicked the three points.

“So we’re gutted we lost, but I think the season has been very good, very positive from everyone, so we’ll reset this summer.

“We’ll enjoy our time off and we’ll be ready to go again in pre-season.”