Ryan Fraser on £30m price tag: I honestly don’t think anyone will pay that

Ryan Fraser says Bournemouth have left him in the dark over his future this summer and has questioned the £30 million price tag reportedly placed on him by the ?Dorset club.
Ryan Fraser in action for Scotland against Cyprus. Picture: Ross MacDonald/SNSRyan Fraser in action for Scotland against Cyprus. Picture: Ross MacDonald/SNS
Ryan Fraser in action for Scotland against Cyprus. Picture: Ross MacDonald/SNS

The Scotland winger has just 12 months remaining on his contract at Bournemouth and has been heavily linked with a move to Arsenal. Fraser is also believed to be on a list of potential summer transfer targets for Champions League winners Liverpool.

But the 25-year-old former Aberdeen player has revealed he has had no talks with Bournemouth over a new contract since last year and feels the potential fee which has been quoted for him is too high.

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“I honestly don’t think anyone will be paying that [£30m],” said Fraser. “It was six or seven months ago that we last spoke about my future, but nothing since. Even in the end of season meeting I had with the manager [Eddie Howe], we didn’t speak about my future.

“He knows I’m not one to speak about it. If something happens, it will happen. If it doesn’t, then I’m not one to throw my rattle out of the pram. I’ll keep trying my best. I keep getting things tagged on Instagram that I’m going 
places and I think ‘Am I?’.

“I’ve got a year left with Bournemouth. If I’m there, I’ll give my all. If I’m somewhere else, I’ll give my all. I just want to play well, do my best and work hard for my team-mates.

“It’s nice [to be linked with big clubs]. But I’m just one of those players who enjoys playing football, wherever I am. I never look too far ahead, I never want to try and think ‘where am I going to be playing?’.

“Because if you start thinking like that, then you’ll probably start playing badly and not concentrating on the here and now on the pitch.

“Not once, since the season stopped at Bournemouth, have I thought ‘where am I going to be next season?’ It was just about staying fit for the Scotland matches against Cyprus and Belgium and then wherever I’ll be, I’ll be. As long as I’m enjoying my football, that’s all I care about.”

Aberdeen are anxiously monitoring Fraser’s situation, having included a 20 per cent sell-on clause when he moved to Bournemouth in 2013 for just £400,000. The Dons will miss out on a significant pay-out if Fraser runs down the remainder of his contract next season.

But Fraser has offered Aberdeen fans some encouragement for the future, hinting he would like to return to Pittodrie later in his career.

“I don’t think they are getting me back at the moment, put it that way,” he laughed. “I don’t think I’ll be going back there too soon, but you never know. I might go back there in the future.”