Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe has admitted that it was a "difficult" transfer window for the club.

The Cherries' only signing in January came on deadline day as Aaron Ramsdale joined from Sheffield United, whereas nine players left on loan and Glenn Murray and Nathan Ake both departed on a permanent basis.

Marc Wilson was the final departure from the Vitality Stadium as he joined West Bromwich Albion on loan, and Howe admits that his squad's depth has taken a hit due to their January dealings.

"It has been a difficult window, I am not going to hide from that. The pool of players that we have to recruit from is small and it is always a delicate balance between spending money and recruiting players," he told reporters.

"Anyone can spend money, anyone can recruit players but we wanted to recruit players that would make a difference to the team and that is incredibly difficult in this window with the finances that we have. I am not going to complain about it because I love the squad we have, I think it is good enough, it is strong enough, you look at the quality on the bench and I have no concerns.

"We were reluctant to lose another defender. However, in [Wilson's] situation we felt we could not stand in Marc's way after the reasons he gave, which will remain private."

Howe also revealed that the club failed in a bid to re-sign Ake from Chelsea.