SKIPPER Simon Francis insists he will wait until the time is right before discussing his contract situation with Cherries.

Francis's current deal expires on June 30, but with uncertainty around the Premier League due to COVID-19, the season could yet extend beyond that date.

The 35-year-old is among a host of Cherries players who are presently set to leave the club at the end of June, including the likes of Ryan Fraser, Charlie Daniels, Jordon Ibe, Artur Boruc and Andrew Surman.

Writing in The Sun, Francis said: "If you are a free agent in the summer and you have interest from other clubs and then the season is going to be extended through June, July or even August, what position does that leave you in mentally? How are you going to go about it?

"Would you sign a short-term contract with the club you are currently at and commit your short-term future? Or do you think, ‘No, this club wants me for next season, I’ll hold off’?

"If the season does go beyond June 30, we are going to need Ryan (Fraser) because he would play a massive part in our fight to stay up.

"It is all a bit of a headache  —  and that is only in the Premier League.

"Further down the pyramid, the financial impact on players out of contract could be relatively more damaging — not to mention all the other people who work at clubs.

"When you look at the absolute disaster at Barnet, where all non-playing staff have been put on notice of redundancy, it shows how crippling not playing for just a few weeks can be.

"It is such a shame to see and the worry is it could happen to more clubs in the following months."

He added: "Regarding my own contractual situation, I am obviously in contact with my agent over it but I have told him not to make the call.

"I am old enough and know the club well enough that when they are ready, I will be happy to talk.

"I would never do anything to upset the club and start asking questions at the wrong time.

"We have nine games left and if in those matches I need to prove that I can still cut it at this level, then so be it.

"As soon as we get some clarity over when fixtures can be played then I do think things will start to fall into place.

"But the decision-makers at the FA and Uefa obviously have a lot on their hands right now.

"So, like everything else in society as we wait to discover how bad this virus will be, those of us out of contract will have to deal with uncertainty for a good while yet."