KEEPER Benji Buchel is ready to sign a new deal with Cherries and says he will “push as hard as possible” in the pursuit of first-team football.

Cherries have offered Buchel a fresh contract and the Liechtenstein international, currently spending time in his native land, plans to put pen to paper after he returns to Bournemouth later this month.

A late arriver to professional football who joined Cherries in August 2012, the 24-year-old development squad stopper had spells on loan at non-league outfits Poole Town and Havant & Waterlooville last term.

Now facing competition from Lee Camp, Ryan Allsop and potentially Darryl Flahavan – should the ex-Southend man sign a new contract of his own – Buchel knows he has a tough task to force his way into boss Eddie Howe’s first team thinking.

Buchel told the Daily Echo: “It looks like everything will be OK for me to stay another year in Bournemouth, so I just need to sign the contract when I’m back in England, but it’s a formality.

“The last two years have been good for me as I have come to a new country and learned about football. Injuries stopped me a little bit but now I think I’m ready for a whole year of improving.

“Because I was injured for a long time, all I want is to stay fit for the whole season, push the other goalkeepers, and if possible, play-first team football.

“But I’m not really thinking about the chances of that. I train hard and I live well and if I get a chance, hopefully I will take it.

“You never know what is going to happen. Maybe I will get a loan move somewhere, but first I want to be in Bournemouth and to push as hard as possible.

“I always played games, not necessarily as a professional because I got into football quite late, but now I hope it’s time to get regular games.”

Buchel sees the benefits of loan spells lower down the footballing ladder and would be content to continue in that vein if it means minutes on the field.

He added: “It wasn’t the highest standard but because I was coming back from injury, I was really happy to have played nearly 25 games in three months at Poole and Havant.

“I was just happy to play games and I think it will be the same next season. I won’t stay on the bench or just do the training. If I won’t be near the team, I would love to go out on loan as high as possible.”