CHERRIES boss Eddie Howe admitted David Brooks had surprised him by swiftly adapting to a wide role in the Premier League.

The £10million summer signing starred in Cherries’ first win at London Stadium on Saturday, helping his team maintain their 100 per cent start to the campaign.

Brooks was a dynamic and positive presence throughout and cleverly drew a foul from West Ham defender Angelo Ogbonna which resulted in Steve Cook heading the winner from Ryan Fraser’s free-kick.

The 21-year-old put Callum Wilson in on goal in the first half for a chance which went begging and twice came close to opening his account for the Dorset club, on the second occasion being denied by a fine save from keeper Lukasz Fabianski.

Brooks’s ability to consistently find space in attacking areas was just one of the factors to earn him praise from Howe.

This boss said: “David was very good today and had a number of chances to score.

“I’m so pleased when any player gets that number of opportunities – it means their positioning is very good and their intelligence levels very high.

“He was very strong and that bodes well for the future. He’s still very young and new to the Premier League so he can be very satisfied with what he has delivered. He looked at home in the team.

“The only surprise for me would be how quickly he has adapted to the position because last season he played mostly as a number 10 for Sheffield United.

“We have changed his position. We have predominantly used him as a wide player and he has settled into that very well.

“His relationship with Adam Smith was very good from an attacking perspective and he defended very well, which isn’t always easy for young players in the Premier League, so full credit to him.”

Brooks is not the only summer signing from the Championship to make a good impression in the top flight.

Leicester midfielder James Maddison – brought in from Norwich City for a reported £22m – has also received plaudits.

Asked if the Championship was overlooked as a talent pool by Premier League clubs, Howe said: “I wouldn’t say it’s overlooked, I’d say it’s very expensive.

“Last season, any Championship player who had a couple of good games, the prices were sky-high.

“That’s probably what makes it difficult for clubs to go into that market too regularly. The foreign players are, predominantly, slightly cheaper.

“But the quality is there, which is great for English football.

“We have always used the Championship as our first port of call to try to sign players and identify the ones we think can play in the Premier League.”

The likes of Joshua King and Junior Stanislas were playing for Championship clubs when snapped up by Howe.

King was signed for £1million from Blackburn Rovers while Stanislas arrived on a free transfer from Burnley having turned down the offer of a new contract.