EDDIE Howe expressed sympathy for Lys Mousset after his full Premier League debut had been blemished by an unfortunate own goal.

But irrespective of the frontman inadvertently giving Stoke the lead at Vitality Stadium on Saturday, Howe is predicting a bright future for the Frenchman.

The £5.5m summer signing from Le Havre had previously come off the bench eight times in the top flight and also started the FA Cup defeat at Millwall.

Howe said: "It was a shame because I thought he performed well. The goal was just one of those things that happens.

"When you consider his age and limited experience in England, I thought he performed well in a difficult team performance.

"His time will come and I think he will get many goals for us in the future.

"The big thing is he will be used to our expectations of him.

"When you first come in, everything is new. You don’t know your team-mates, how the training is going to be and what’s required of you physically.

"He now knows all those things and he knows how we play.

"A lot of his development has been done away from the pitch, away from the glare of the supporters.

"He has been able to develop nicely and we are happy with where he is in line with our expectations and believe he has a really good future."