Bournemouth coach Scott Parker has insisted that he still wants to keep Jordan Zemura at the club and will resume contract talks for a new long-term deal soon.

The Cherries put the negotiations on hold in December and triggered the one-year option on the existing deal to avoid losing the defender for free at the end of the season.

According to Parker, this has also allowed both parties to resume talks at the right time.

He told the Daily Echo: “I think at the beginning of the season we spoke or tried to sit down about new contracts with both of those boys (Zemura and Jaidon Anthony).

“I was very, very conscious and very vocal in my stance in the fact that if something couldn’t get done, I wanted to (say) let’s just forget about this because I didn’t want to disrupt them or for them to lose focus.

“They are both young boys that have still got a very long way to go in the game.

“I realise distractions, worries or whatever of contracts – what it should or shouldn’t be – frustrations of negotiations.

“I think this probably gives a little bit of oxygen to both sides and for them as well.

“Hopefully we can sit down in the future when it’s the right time and see if we can come with something a bit more longer-term, we will see.”