EDDIE Howe believes Joshua King is "up there" with his best Cherries signings.

Howe paid £1million to bring King to Vitality Stadium from Blackburn in 2015 - a fee which is looking more of a snip with each passing game.

The Norwegian has been in rich goalscoring form since being asked to spearhead Cherries' attack and bagged his first Premier League hat-trick against West Ham.

And Howe is confident his feats will act as a springboard for him to fulfil his "enormous" potential, providing he keeps working hard.

"He is definitely up there as one of my best signings," said Howe. "Whether he is the best or not, I don’t know.

"The pleasing thing with Joshua is his potential is enormous.

"We feel there is a lot more to come from him. He’s improving rapidly, he’s making great strides and that is all down to his attitude and how he conducts himself every day.

"I think there is a really bright future for him."

While King has spoken glowingly of the influence Howe has had on his game, the manager insists extracting optimal performances from his players is all in a day's work.

"I’d like to think all my players would say the same thing – that I’m working with them on the training pitch," added Howe. "That is my job. That is how we try to treat all of our players.

"Whether they are in or out of the team and regardless of their status, we try to improve them all."

King, meanwhile, wants to help restore pride in Norway after being selected in the first squad named by new head coach Lars Lagerbäck.

The Oslo-born frontman, who has scored seven times for his country, will be hoping to earn his 28th full cap when they face Northern Ireland in a World Cup qualifier in Belfast on Sunday.

Respected boss Lagerbäck, who managed Sweden for nine years, replaced Per-Mathias Hogmo in February following Norway’s disappointing start to their qualifying campaign.

The 68-year-old masterminded Iceland’s shock progression to the quarter-finals of Euro 2016 – their first major tournament – when they beat England in the last 16 before going out to hosts France.

Norway have won just one of their first four qualifiers with King completing the scoring in a 4-1 victory over San Marino in Oslo in October.

He also netted a consolation in their 2-1 defeat by Czech Republic in Prague in November and started in defeats by Germany and Azerbaijan.

King told the Daily Echo: “We haven’t had the best of starts. We have a new manager and I am looking forward to meeting up with the team and seeing what the changes are going to be.

“It is a very important game, especially for the fans. The whole of Norway lost a bit of belief in the team and the old manager.

“We want to get that back, get the fans back on our side and try to do well for the country. Representing your country is one of the biggest things you can do as a footballer.”