Bournemouth become Premier League's newest big spenders as Howe hails two new attackers

LEWIS GRABBAN has returned to Bournemouth – for £5 million more than they sold him for 18 months ago.

 

New Bournemouth man Lewis Grabban scored one goal in six Premier League games this term at Norwich

 

Bournemouth took their spending on strikers to £18 million in two days, a day after the capture of Benik Afobe from Wolves for £10m.

Norwich’s Grabban returned to the club for a reported £8m after leaving for Carrow Road for £3m.

“I think we’ll be getting a better Lewis Grabban, but he’ll realise that we’ve got better as well and he will have to adapt too. But we’re in no doubt we’re getting a good player back,” said manager Eddie Howe.

“He’s also someone who was popular in the dressing room behind the scenes he’s a strong motivator and we’re delighted to be bringing him back.”

Grabban – who scored 35 goals during his first two-year stay – joins on a three-and-a-half-year deal.

 

Former Rotherham player Grabban, 27, helped Norwich earn promotion to the Premier League last season.

Howe is refusing to put pressure on Afobe despite smashing Bournemouth’s transfer record to land the Wolves striker.

The 22-year-old has signed a four-and-half-year deal and Bournemouth and could make his debut against West Ham tonight.

The former Arsenal player has been a regular goalscorer in the lower leagues, including a prolific stint with MK Dons last season when he scored 19 goals in 18 appearances, and Howe believes he has ability to do just as much damage in the top flight.

“He is entering a new league and that is going to be a big experience for him but we believe he can make the step up,” Howe said.

 

“He is strong, you just look at him and know he is going to be a handful, but he has good technique.

“I am excited by that because there is a lot of potential in him and he is a really good age, and there are a lot of good years ahead of him.

“He may need a little bit of time to settle as most new players do for us because of the way we play, so we are not placing huge expectation on his shoulders.

“He can play the role the way we like it to be played and he will be a success, but we are going to need to work on him like we do all other players.”

Should Afobe play tonight West Ham manager Slaven Bilic does not need to swot up on the striker as he was expecting to face him three days earlier.

 

Afobe was due to be in the Wolves squad which travelled to Upton Park in the FA Cup on Saturday, only to be withdrawn as transfer talks with the Cherries progressed.

“I have already watched him in a few games. He’s a very good player,” said the West Ham boss.

“Iturbe is a great winger – Bournemouth are thinking big so well done to them. They had a lot of injuries and have done well to maintain good results without those players, but they have probably been waiting for this transfer window.

“They are playing good football and the biggest thing is they don’t have negative pressure. They got promoted, and although it’s important to stay up they are enjoying it.

“You can see in the games every player is positive, they are not afraid of the ball. They enjoy playing football.

“They are well organised, they are hard to beat, they run a lot and they did it here when they beat us 4-3, so we are very aware of what to expect when we play them.”