CHERRIES boss Eddie Howe admits Lewis Cook is close to earning a spot in his starting XI.

A £7million signing from Leeds 14 months ago, Cook made his top-flight bow in last season’s curtain-raiser against Manchester United.

But he did not feature in the league again until April, when the season-ending injury suffered by loan star Jack Wilshere saw Cook move up the pecking order.

The York-born midfielder skippered England to Under-20 World Cup glory over the summer and subsequently starred for the under-21s during two recent qualifiers, the second of which was a 3-0 win over Latvia at Vitality Stadium.

He was an unused substitute for Premier League losses to Manchester City and Arsenal following a Carabao Cup outing at Birmingham.

Reflecting on Cook’s progress, Howe said: “Lewis is knocking on the door, there is no doubt about that. I think he has had a good start to the season.

“He has trained well, shown a good attitude throughout and did well for England under-21s, so he will certainly come into our thinking.”

Howe elected to replace central midfielder Andrew Surman with Ryan Fraser for Saturday’s loss at Arsenal.

But the Scotland international was forced off through injury during the first half, being replaced by former Liverpool wide man Jordon Ibe.