CHERRIES loan star Warren Cummings has admitted he would "definitely" be interested in moving to Dean Court on a permanent basis.

Cummings has made 10 impressive appearances since rejoining Cherries for a second loan spell from Chelsea at the start of February.

And although the 22-year-old is under contract to Chelsea until June 2004, he knows his chances of making the grade at Stamford Bridge are limited.

Dean Court chairman Peter Phillips has confirmed Cher-ries have already opened negotiations with the Premiership outfit for Cummings' signature.

Phillips said: "We would be very interested in signing Warren. We consider him to be an excellent player who would strengthen our squad.

"We are currently in talks with Chelsea to see whether a deal can be done and are optimistic that we will be able to sort something out before the transfer deadline.

"Of course we would also need to agree terms with Warren, but we are delighted that he is enthusiastic about the possibility of coming here.

"Things are progressing and if Warren would like to come here, we would very much like to have him."

Cummings was drafted in to fill Cherries' problematic left-back berth and has again proved to be a big hit among the Dean Court faithful after making 11 appearances during a loan spell two years ago.

The Scottish international told the Daily Echo: "Joining Bournemouth permanently is something I would consider a great deal and I'm definitely interested.

"I've got a year left on my contract at Chelsea, but I'm 22 now and it doesn't look as if I'm ever going to play for them so this summer would be a good time to leave, if ever there was a good time to leave Chelsea.

"I like it at Bournemouth. We try to play football, the stadium is great and the fans have been very good towards me. I also get on well with the players and with Sean and Peter.

"There are a lot of things that would need to be discussed. It's not just a case of Chelsea saying they are prepared to let me go and me coming here.

"Everything has got to be right for me and the first step would be that Chelsea would have to get a deal done with Bournemouth. I would also need to weigh up the situation come the end of the season.

"Sean asked me if I was interested about a fortnight ago and I said I would be. But other than saying I would be interested, it's not cut and dried or anything like that."

Cummings will be looking to help Cherries get their promotion push back on track when they host Division Three rivals Leyton Orient tonight (7.45pm kick-off).

Despite winning their last five home games, Sean O'Driscoll's side slipped out of the top three following Saturday's 1-0 defeat at York City.

Cherries look set to welcome back both Warren Feeney and Jason Tindall, but are sweating on the fitness of Steve Fletcher and Wade Elliott.

Feeney (hamstring) and Tindall (ankle) are both added to the Cherries squad after returning to full training yesterday having been sidelined for a fortnight.

But Elliott and Fletcher both sat out training and are likely to face late fitness tests after picking up knee injuries at Bootham Crescent.

One-time Cherries target Justin Miller is ruled out for Orient due to injury, while Matt Brazier is struggling with a back problem.

The inconsistent O's have managed just two wins in their last 11 games - away triumphs at promotion-chasing Bury and Oxford.

Cherries: (from) Moss, Purches, Cummings, C Fletcher, Buxton, Elliott, Browning, O'Connor, Thomas, Holmes, Hayter, S Fletcher, Stock, Young, Eribenne, Feeney, Tindall, Tardif.

Orient: (from) Harrison, Joseph, Downer, Lockwood, Tate, Toner, Hutchings, Jones, Harris, Brazier, Thorpe, Ibehre, Alexander, Martin, Barnard, Morris.