Purches can play in either full-back position or anywhere in midfield

Bournemouth have signed Leyton Orient utility man Stephen Purches, Woking midfielder Harry Arter and Tooting & Mitcham defender Mitchell Nelson.

Purches, 30, comes back for a second spell at Dean Court, having made 272 appearances for them over seven years before joining the O's in 2007.

Arter, 21, and Nelson, 20, will both cost the Cherries undisclosed fees.

The signings come after last week's triple swoop for strikers Steve Lovell and Michael Symes and winger Marc Pugh.

Arter and Nelson both return to the Football League after previous spells with Charlton and Colchester respectively.

606: DEBATE We had a favourable record for many games of never losing when Purchy scored. I'm pleased to see his return MalcolmMarshallFlayedMyHamster

Lovell, 29, is Cherries manager Eddie Howe's half-brother and is a free agent after leaving Partick. He started his career at Bournemouth, making seven appearances during the 1990s, but has spent the past eight seasons in Scotland.

Symes, 26, spent last season at Accrington and had a loan spell at Bournemouth in 2008, failing to score in five appearances.

Pugh was out of contract at Hereford, who will receive compensation for the 23-year-old winger after he rejected the Bulls' offer of a new deal.

Last month, then-Hereford boss Graham Turner said: "It seems likely that Marc will end up at Bournemouth. The fee will probably end up at a tribunal. They've made a very small offer, which is far, far from acceptable."

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version