'Certainly' - Lloyd Kelly fitness update ahead of AFC Bournemouth vs Newcastle United

Kelly makes a swift return to the South Coast having officially joined the Magpies on a free transfer at the start of last month. The 25-year-old made 141 appearances for the Cherries and was captain when they were promoted from the Championship two years ago.

After running down his contract, Kelly attracted interest from a number of clubs but quickly made the decision to reunite with Eddie Howe, the manager who signed him for Bournemouth in 2019 for £13million.

The former Bristol City defender spent the opening weeks getting to grips with the physical output Howe demands. He sat out of friendlies against SpVgg Unterhaching, Hull City and Urawa Red Diamonds before making his debut, a first-half cameo versus Yokohama F. Marinos at the Japan National Stadium. Kelly then featured in the second of United’s two Sela weekender matches, playing a full match at centre-back against Girona.

Considering his lack of minutes compared to some of his teammates, Kelly was named on the bench for the Premier League opener against Southampton but was brought on with 20 minutes to go at left-back and his side saw out a 1-0 victory with 10 men.

Howe believes Kelly is now in “good condition” is “pushing for a starting place” with the player capable of playing at centre-half or left-back.

“I think he’s in good condition,” said Howe.” He didn’t have a lot of match action in pre-season which is always difficult. He trained for roughly around three weeks towards the end of pre-season and trained really well, and I think he has made a really positive impact with the group.

“I’ve been really impressed with his performances, I thought he did really well when he came on at the weekend in a difficult situation for us, he defended really well. I think he will say he’s ready and certainly he’s pushing for a starting place.”