ITHINK James Hayter has been a real smart cookie. The sought-after striker has regularly courted intense transfer speculation but has remained loyal to the Cherries cause for more than 10 years.

However, with news of Doncaster Rovers' interest in Hayter very much in the public domain, perhaps now could be the time for him to move on.

But, although Rovers appear to have had a substantial bid for Hayter accepted by Cherries, it would take a brave man to put money on him ending up at the Keepmoat Stadium.

With his existing contract due to expire at the end of June 2008, Hayter would be entitled to walk away from Dean Court for nothing, unless a new deal were to be agreed in the meantime.

And for Hayter to contemplate extending his stay with Cherries beyond next summer, the new terms would need to be considerable and the length of contract significant.

He is 28 years old, a prolific goalscorer, hugely versatile and a manager's dream. His next contract will undoubtedly be the most important of his career.

So, if Cherries are unable to meet his demands, there are plenty of clubs which would, with former boss Sean O'Driscoll hoping to be at the front of the queue.

Although Cherries are well within their rights to ask Hayter to honour his contract, the delicacy of the situation leaves them with an intriguing dilemma.

Do they take the money and run or do they keep him for another season and run the risk of losing him on a free transfer if a new deal cannot be finalised?

Under the circumstances, the money - believed to be in the region of £200,000 and with a sizeable sell-on - would appear very tempting.

It could even give Kevin Bond the chance to start wheeling and dealing in the transfer market and who knows what he might unearth?

The alternative looks risky and could be costly.

As Hayter is now in a position where he could command top-dollar wages in the Championship, the prospectof him signing a new deal with Cherries would seem unlikely.

And this is where I think he has been very clever.

If they did not already know, any potential suitors would have been alerted to Hayter's availability by the Doncaster Rovers official website.

"Rovers to break transfer record," trumpeted the headline before ambitious chairman John Ryan spoke about how "James WILL add to the firepower here".

It was a curious and confusing state of affairs and certainly not in keeping with how O'Driscoll used to handle delicate transfer negotiations when he was Cherries boss.

Rovers also reported that they were "now discussing terms with the player, with the transfer going through on agreement of said terms".

Subsequently, O'Driscoll attempted to add some perspective to the saga when he was quoted as saying that the deal "is a long way from being finalised".

He also confirmed that "further negotiations" would take place once Hayter had returned from a short break with his family, but there was no mention of how the initial negotiations had gone.

More than a week later, and in an age of advanced electronic technology, there is still no news and Hayter remains a Bournemouth player.

But although Doncaster may not have been able to get through, I would imagine that his mobile telephone has been as hot as the Dubai sunshine where he has been relaxing this week.