THE amounts may have increased hugely but in a curious way, Eddie Howe's transfer policy has never changed.

Howe has always shown a liking for players with something to prove and it does not matter whether a player costs £4,000 or £3million, the mentality has to be right.

The figures are deliberate. When Howe plucked Harry Arter from non-league Woking for that four-figure sum in 2010, a fee determined by a tribunal, he felt it a big risk.

But the Cherries manager could see in the 20-year-old a talent which, with careful nurture, would thrive. He sensed a drive, a searing enthusiasm for the game which only a finite amount of professionals possess.

Of course, the move paid off and then some. And Arter is far from the only one. You only have to look at the likes of Tommy Elphick and Matt Ritchie, players who came to Dorset desperate to work and improve, for a couple more examples.

Having contributed in huge measure to the club's rise from League One to the top flight, the duo left for a combined figure of around £15m, far more reflective of their hard graft and improvement than an admittedly crazy transfer market.

What future awaits Brad Smith, then, Cherries' latest recruit in a summer of spending the like of which the club has never seen before?

Predominantly a left-back who can also play in midfield and on the wing, the 22-year-old got stuck behind Alberto Moreno at Liverpool and does not stand out as an obvious choice to start in defence.

After all, Charlie Daniels was arguably Cherries' best player for the first half of last season. Tyrone Mings joined from Ipswich Town for a sizeable fee but saw his first season wrecked by injury. Whoever starts at left-back will certainly have earned it.

He might have arrived at Vitality Stadium from one of the biggest clubs in the world but Smith still fits Howe's penchant for untapped potential.

Born in Penrith in New South Wales, the defender has appearances for England and Australia at youth level to his name as well as nine senior caps for the Socceroos. The fact he remained in the Liverpool set-up for eight years suggested he had plenty of fans at Anfield, of which Jurgen Klopp was undoubtedly one.

But by the same token, Smith has little experience. A former loan signing for Swindon Town, he has just five Premier League games under his belt. His first top-flight start came at Vitality Stadium in April, the only league victory he has played a part in during his spell with the Merseysiders.

Perhaps it is hunger and youthful exuberance that Howe is trying to tap into. Like many new Cherries signings in recent years, Smith appears to have plenty in his locker and plenty of motivation to unleash it.

Given Howe's record in the transfer market, you have to trust him. After all, how much is Callum Wilson worth now?

One thing to disregard with Smith, to some degree at least, is the fee. We live in a different world now. Pointing out *talented player x* cost less in *insert year* is less than an irrelevance. Bumper television deals were always going to inflate transfer figures this summer. It's just a fact of life.

What does remain constant is that managers have to be able to see talent and then sign it. Former England international Jamie Redknapp said recently that Vitality Stadium provides the perfect place for young players to develop. Evidently the likes of Jordon Ibe, Lewis Cook, Lys Mousset, Emerson Hyndman and Nathan Ake agree with him.

In Smith, the Dorset club seem to have acquired another convert.