Bournemouth skipper Tommy Elphick thrilled to see Lewis Grabban return from Norwich City
Tommy Elphick of Bournemouth and Lewis Grabban of Norwich in action during a Sky Bet Championship match at Carrow Road, Norwich. Picture by Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd - Credit: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd
Bournemouth captain Tommy Elphick has spoken of his delight at Lewis Grabban's return to the south coast, after the Cherries signed the striker from Norwich City in a deal worth £8million.
The 27-year-old has signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with the Dorset club, with the Canaries believed to have made a £4.5million profit on Grabban, who joined from Bournemouth for around £3m in 2014 as Neil Adams' first signing.
The forward had made just eight appearances this season, scoring once, having been suspended after going AWOL ahead of a Capital One Cup tie at Rotherham – as he reportedly tried to force through a return to Bournemouth.
Elphick is pleased to see that deal has now been completed.
'I am absolutely delighted Grabbs is coming back,' Elphick told his club's website. 'He's a great player and also a good pal of mine. Very rarely in football do you stay in touch with people, as cynical as that sounds, but Grabbs is someone I have always stayed in contact with.
'We've got a great bond but, above that, we are signing a quality player. He doesn't need any introduction, the fans know what he is about and so do the players.
'He is all about business and that's why we all got on so well. He loves winning and he inspired us during that first season in the Championship. He ran tirelessly and scored some really important goals for us.'
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Grabban had been linked with a return to the south coast club since last summer and didn't try to hide his delight at re-joining the Cherries, where he scored 35 goals in 93 matches previously.
'So happy to have signed at Bournemouth once again and can't wait to get going,' the 27-year-old said, using his @Grabbs22 Twitter account. 'Thanks for all the messages welcoming me back.
'A few ups and downs... but I guess it wasn't all that bad. Thanks to all the Norwich fans giving me best wishes.'
