EDDIE Howe almost certainly had Ryan Fraser’s future mapped out while the ink was still drying on his contract. At least, in an ideal world.

A little more than eyebrows were raised when Howe parted with £400,000 to sign a teenager with genuine promise but whom had played just 16 Scottish Premier League games for Aberdeen when he moved from one end of the United Kingdom to the other.

But like the snooker player eyeing a 147 break, Howe was thinking five or six shots ahead when signing Fraser. Howe’s vision for the winger is probably one or two years further on than he had envisaged, but this could be the season when Fraser truly comes of age.

If the Championship is what turns boys into men then Howe clearly felt Fraser would benefit from more time in the second tier, despite his 58 appearances during Cherries’ two-season stint in the division.

His move to Ipswich on a season-long loan, though, will only be proved beneficial should he make strides in the Premier League this season, as Howe surely hopes he will.

Working under Mick McCarthy would have been a tough mental test for Fraser and that’s before you factor in the physical battle scars left from a further season of kicks from Championship defenders.

And that is the one potential problem among the promise. For as successful as his time in Suffolk was, it was blighted by a series of injuries.

A serious knee complaint while on Scotland duty ruled Fraser out for two months from October to December, before a hamstring tear suffered against QPR at Loftus Road in January ended his loan spell after just 17 games.

If we are talking big match confidence, though, then his time at Portman Road would have certainly have got his tail up. The supporters adored him and wanted him to stay permanently. McCarthy probably did, too, but is too wise and long in the tooth to think for a minute Howe would allow such a move to happen at this critical stage in Fraser’s development.

Fraser is different. Stocky, powerful and squat at just 5ft4, with a low centre of gravity and genuine pace, Fraser was described by a Portsmouth-based sports writer during a pre-season friendly a couple of years ago as like Ram Man, a heroic warrior from the Masters of the Universe genre.

Fraser, of course, doesn’t use his head as a battering ram, nor is he reported to be scared of the dark as his comic book alter-ego is said to be. But he will be like little else seen by current Premier League back fours and that is why Howe is almost certain to unleash him this season, particularly in light of Matt Ritchie’s departure to Newcastle.

Given Howe’s record for turning young players of Fraser’s stock from potentials into successes, that lofty £400,000 spent three years ago could prove to be another sound bit of business.