AFC Bournemouth Close in On Blackburn Rovers' 20-Year-Old Winger Connor Mahoney

​Blackburn Rovers' fall from grace continued last term after the club were relegated from the Championship to League One, meaning that a number of the squad's stars will be heading for the exit door in the summer.

AFC Bournemouth, on the other hand, completed an assured 2016-17 campaign in the Premier League with a 9th placed finish and, in order to strengthen and add depth to the fold for the coming campaign, it has emerged - according to Sky Sports - that the Cherries are in talks with Rovers over potentially luring Connor Mahoney towards the South Coast next season.

BLACKBURN, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 19: Connor Mahoney of Blackburn Rovers is chased by Matteo Darmian of Manchester United during The Emirates FA Cup Fifth Round match between Blackburn Rovers and Manchester United at Ewood Park on February 19, 2017 in Blackburn, England. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

Michael Steele/GettyImages

The winger has attracted interest from Championship outfits Nottingham Forest and Middlesbrough following the expiry of his current contract at Ewood Park at the end of the previous season.

However, it's surfaced that Eddie Howe's outfit are the frontrunners in the race for the 20-year-old's services, with top-flight football at the Vitality Stadium presumably being a tantalising determiner.

Playing 14 Championship matches last term for Rovers - four of them being starts - points towards the player's underlying potential, and being tender in years means he will only progress at the right club.

The young Lancastrian joined Blackburn in 2013 from Accrington Stanley and has also been capped by England at U17 and U18 level.

Despite being out of contract at the Lancashire-based club, Blackburn are still entitled to receive a fee for Mahoney, as he is under the age of 24.

With talks still reportedly ongoing between the two parties, the figure of which is to be decided upon has not yet been finalised, so as negotiations unfurl, an element of patience certainly has to be recognised.