Is Kelly more suited as a centre-half?

Watching Lloyd Kelly play his second starting game for Bournemouth was not so much a surprise, but nobody expected him to play at centre-half. While the left back position is what he is recognised for, he showed that he is more than capable of becoming a permanent centre-half, and it may well be his best position on the long term.
Official AFC photo.
Eddie Howe tends to look at defenders who initially play as wing backs, and sees if the are more suited to becoming centre-halves. He did it with Tyrone Mings and then Nathan Aké and even though we have only seen Kelly for a few games, I already believe he could become the best centre-half for Bournemouth.

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It is vital that the club holds on to players like Kelly if they do get relegated. He has the stature of a player that finds the Premier League very much to his suiting, but in the Championship he would probably be well above the standard of many others. I became a bit nervous when I an Wright was saying what a god prospect he was on Match of the Day. Anymore strong performances like he had against Man United and the scouts will come circling for him.

Advertisement Eddie Had a Dream eBook version -£7.99!Bournemouth have had a lot of problems at left-back and Rico found Greenwood a little too hot to handle at times. But Kelly got right in the groove at centre-half and read many of the through balls to Anthony Martial very well. He got blocks in and wasn't afraid to make strong challenges. One of those did lead to the free kick from which Fernandes scored, but on the whole it was an impressive performance and leaves Howe with a decision to make when Steve Cook is available again.

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Kelly was probably asked to fill in next to Aké as a favour rather than what Howe would have done if Cook had been available. He'll probably be shifted to left-back next match, but it might well not be his best position. He has the height and intelligence to play at centre-back, and if there is a fire sale before next season gets underway, it could be a massive bonus to have Kelly playing at centre-half next season.

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