BOSS Eddie Howe says Juan Iturbe is still adjusting to the rigours of the English game and will benefit greatly from his FA Cup experience.

Iturbe, Cherries’ first signing of the transfer window when he joined on loan from Roma, was handed his full debut in Saturday’s 2-1 win at Portsmouth in the fourth round.

It marked an unusual appearance statistic with his past five games all having come in different competitions – the Champions League, Serie A, Coppa Italia, Premier League and FA Cup.

The 22-year-old, an unused sub in Cherries' past three Premier League games, showed glimpses of his rich potential before he was replaced by Marc Pugh after 62 minutes.

Iturbe, who could make his move permanent in the summer, has not made a 90-minute first-team appearance since lining up in Roma’s 1-1 draw at Torino almost 10 months ago.

Howe said: “There is no surprise that when a player comes from a different culture and a different way of playing, they are naturally going to need time to adjust.

“Juan had not played or trained for a number of weeks before he came to us so there was always the factor of needing to top up his fitness.

“I don’t think the speed and physicality of the first half of the Portsmouth game was maybe something he had been used to.

“I thought he did okay in flashes. He nearly scored when he hit the post early on and will get better from this point.

“His talent is not in doubt and he is an outstanding player. We need to get to know him better. We need to give him the ball at the right time and in the right areas.

“I still feel there is an adjustment to be made from our perspective to get the best out of him. I thought he needed the game for his fitness as well. He has had two games in a week and that will do him the world of good.”