Howe: I am best pleased
EDDIE HOWE is expecting big things from his Bournemouth side this season after claiming he has his best squad ever.
He has spent almost £50m on new signings including a club record £25m on Colombia World Cup star Jefferson Lerma.
Ahead of today’s Premier League opener at home to newly-promoted Cardiff, Howe said: “We’ve improved the squad, I’m happy with our signings.
“All the 20 fit players we have at the moment are established players, good enough to play in the Premier League.
“When Junior Stanislas and Kyle Taylor are fit, I think this is possibly the best squad I’ve ever had.
“There’s competition for places in all departments.”
But Cherries fans will have to wait a little longer to get their first glimpse of Lerma after Howe ruled out rushing the former Levante midfielder into action.
He said: “Jefferson’s only had one training session with us on the back of not training after the World Cup, so that’s an issue.
“We’ve got to build up his fitness and help him acclimatise to the squad.
“There may be a period where people don’t see him, but we want to get him up to speed.
“To involve him ahead of players who have played a full pre-season would be foolish.
“We’ve got to make sure that when Jefferson plays he’s at his best level, so we’ll work with him behind the scenes.
“We would never tell a player to miss the whole of pre-season then step up and play.
“So we’ll take our time with him and make sure that he’s right.”