RISING star Alex Dobre said his “biggest dream” is to become one of the top five players on the planet – but admitted he had to take things “step by step”.

The Romanian under-21 international made his Cherries first-team debut earlier this month, when he came off the bench against Luton in the FA Cup.

Dobre signed with the Dorset club in 2016, having previously left his home at the age of 14 to pursue his ambition as a professional footballer.

But the Bucharest-born forward revealed his ambitions were much greater than just making the grade at Cherries.

He told the Athletic: “Let’s say I have my objectives in my head but the gaffer (Eddie Howe) told me that I need to take them step by step.

“Because, for example, my biggest dream is to be in the top five players in the world.

“But to be there, what I need to do, I need to take it step by step. So this is what I do. I listen to his advice.

“He’s a very good manager working with young players.

“I’m very happy that I have a manager like him to learn this stuff, like on the ball, off the ball, mentality stuff.

“How I need to think, how I need to work, not just on the pitch but to be a person out in public. It’s very nice, I love this kind of manager, especially Eddie.”

Boss Howe revealed to the Daily Echo that Dobre opted to stay and fight for a first-team spot at Cherries this season, rather than going out on loan.

His hard work was rewarded by the appearance against the Hatters – and the Romanian revealed he had been inspired by the reaction to his senior display.

“After my debut in the FA Cup, after I finished and I left the dressing room, I received a lot of messages, a lot of TV tried to contact me for interviews and stuff like that,” he said.

“So it’s nice when people appreciate your work and give you the satisfaction because when you work so hard you know the gaffer will give you a chance and you know that people like what I do.

“Especially the kids, the fans. They tell me, ‘oh, we want to see more of your skills’ and that makes me determined to work harder and harder and improve more and more.

“Especially for the young kids, because they like skilful players. They like players that make them stand up when they have the ball. So, this is what I like to do.”