Eddie Howe has revealed his confidence that new signing Glenn Murray can inspire Bournemouth to Premier League safety.
The £4million Bournemouth striker was recruited from Crystal Palace towards the end of the transfer window after a summer-long pursuit.
Alongside the promising Callum Wilson, presently the highest English goalscorer in the division, Murray is considered capable of scoring the goals that Bournemouth have deserved in previous Premier League fixtures but that have so far eluded them, and Howe believes that the striker will prove exactly what they have required.
"Glenn has a proven track record of scoring goals in the Premier League, is an experienced striker and has been there and done it," Howe said.
"He also gives us a slightly different dimension to our play. He is a predator but also scores goals from crosses which is something we have been missing.
"Every striker's brought in to try and chip in with goals. It's not the be-all-and-end-all, as long as they're contributing to the team, but it is a big part of what their job is.
"If you look at his track record, it's very impressive. His goalscoring return to games [played], he's managed to step up with every challenge that's been placed upon him, and reacted positively to that, and I think he'll fit in well to what we do here.
"Any striker, you're hoping can have a real impact on our season. I believe we've got really good attacking options. When you look at the strikers, they're all slightly different, they've all got their strengths and the areas they can help us; most of them are fully integrated into how we work.
"Obviously we're going to get Glenn used to our way of working and used to our way of playing, but I'm excited to see them all play together.
"It's [a transfer] we've chased for the majority of the summer so to finally get it over the line was very pleasing."
Murray was a significant figure as Palace last season secured a mid-table finish, following Alan Pardew's appointment as manager, when they had been at risk of relegation.
The summer arrivals of Connor Wickham and Patrick Bamford had increased competition for places at Selhurst Park, but Murray insisted his desire to join Bournemouth owed to their attacking style of football and not because he felt that his place was under threat.
"Before I signed, I watched Bournemouth a few times, and that was attractive [football]," he said. "If it was more of a defensive team, and one man up front was left on his own, it might have been a different decision [to join] but that isn't the case. [The transfer] suited all parties involved.
"You don't know for yourself until you walk through the doors [that the squad is tight-knit] but that definitely is the case. These guys have been through a lot together and I'm hopefully adding to that in trying to stay in the Premier League."
Source: PA
