EDDIE Howe challenged prospect Nnamdi Ofoborh to continue to push himself against Cherries first-team stars after the midfielder signed a new contract.

The 19-year-old penned a deal which will keep him at Vitality Stadium until at least 2021.

Ofoborh trained with the first-team over the past year and captained the under-21s side this season.

"We really like Nnamdi," said Howe. "He has such a great outlook on life. He is a hard worker and always has a smile on his face.

"He stays behind and is probably one of the last players off the training pitch every day. He has a chance to make a good career for himself.

"He is still very young but he has been around the first-team players for a long time now.

"As long as he can stay close to them, keep learning and be competitive in training, his career is only going to go upwards."

Ofoborh was named Cherries' young player of the season for 2017-18 and made his international debut for Nigeria under-20s in March.

He told the club official website: "I need to work and listen to all of the coaching staff to make me a better player for the future.

"I want to stay consistent. Hopefully by listening to all the coaches at the club I can kick on and my aim is to stay in and around the first-team fold."