JACK Stacey has hailed the signing of Rodrigo Riquelme as a "massive coup" for Cherries after they snapped him up from Atletico Madrid.

The winger has arrived on a season-long loan deal, which could become permanent in the summer.

Riquelme, 20, made two first-team appearances for Atletico last season under boss Diego Simeone, but spent much of September training with Championship high-fliers Reading.

However, after the Royals were unable to conclude a deal, Cherries swooped last month to complete the transfer with the winger in line to make his debut against Queens Park Rangers on Saturday.

He did travel with the Cherries squad to face Coventry earlier this month, but international clearance for his transfer did not come through in time, meaning he had to watch on from the stands.

And full-back Stacey said himself and team-mate Chris Mepham had been doing their research ahead of the Spaniard's first outing for the team.

Asked for his first impressions of Riquelme, Stacey told the Daily Echo: "He’s a really nice guy, he speaks very good English and me and Meps were watching clips of him and he looks like he’s got a bit of quality.

"It’s obviously nice to add quality to the squad and hopefully he can contribute going forward for the rest of the season."

Stacey came through the academy at Reading before leaving to join Luton Town in 2017, so had somewhat of an inside track on the winger's involvement with the Royals.

"I spoke to my friend at Reading and he said he was training there for the last three weeks," said Stacey.

"I think there were a few complications and obviously we’ve come in and signed him. So it’s obviously a massive coup for us and hopefully he can help us get to where we want to be."

Riquelme is the only new addition so far at Cherries this summer, despite a raft of exits, with youngsters such as Jordan Zemura and Nnamdi Ofoborh among those now more involved with the first-team squad.

However, Stacey believes the performances of some of the club's talented academy graduates could be behind the lack of more incoming transfers, with the window set to slam shut on Friday.

"I’ve been impressed with all the young guys really," he said.

"You look at them in pre-season friendlies and the Carabao Cup, I think they’ve shown they’ve staked their claim for a place in the squad.

"Maybe that’s one of the reasons we haven’t brought in as many players because they’ve shown they’re more than ready to step up if called upon."

Asked if he's at risk of feeling like one of the older heads in the squad aged just 24 with all the talent coming through, Stacey added: "To be fair I’ve played a few games, but I still feel young out there so that’s what matters the most!"