Lewis Grabban has returned to Bournemouth after his parent club and Sunderland mutually agreed to cancel his loan spell, with Fulham being linked with a move.
The Bournemouth Echo have reported that Fulham are the favourites to sign Grabban, who has netted 12 goals in 20 games for the Black Cats, but at 29 doesn't fall into the under-28 rule that the Director of Football Operations, Tony Khan, has implemented on transfers at the club.
Manager Slavisa Jokanovic launched a furious tirade about transfers on Thursday, issuing a back me or sack me ultimatum after a disagreement with the recruitment team regarding the squad's strength, with the boss not believing it to be strong enough for promotion, while the recruitment department hold the opposite view.
Fulham will only make moves for new players should the right option become available, an after the outburst, it looks unlikely that the Whites will be making a move for Grabban, but that hasn't stopped the national press linking the Cottagers with a move, alongside Wolves, Cardiff and Aston Villa.
While it remains to be seen where Grabban will end up, one thing is for sure, the Bournemouth striker will be moving on this January.
Howe said: "It was a mutual decision between the clubs. Grabban wanted to end his spell with Sunderland so I think Lewis will move on in this window.
"When that will be and who that will be to? We don't know."
Keep up to date with the latest news in west London via the free getwestlondon app.
You can set up your app to see all the latest news and events from your area, plus receive push notifications for breaking news.
Available to download from the App Store or Google Play for Android .
