ADAM Smith has been impressed by Aaron Ramsdale’s first two performances in the Premier League, admitting “I didn’t realise how good he was”.

The 21-year-old goalkeeper was handed the gloves by Eddie Howe for his Cherries debut against Sheffield United on the opening day of the Premier League season and he kept his place for the trip to Aston Villa on Saturday.

Ramsdale arrived at Cherries from the Blades in January 2017, but his only taste of competitive action since came during loan spells at Chesterfield and AFC Wimbledon in Leagues Two and One respectively.

But the goalkeeper’s form for the Dons earned him the chance to battle for the number one spot at Cherries during pre-season and he won the fight to start ahead of Artur Boruc, Asmir Begovic and Mark Travers.

And Ramsdale, who conceded no goals during his three outings during the summer schedule, has looked assured during both his appearances so far in the top flight.

Discussing the performances of the goalkeeper so far, Cherries defender Smith told the Daily Echo: “Rammers is a great talent.

“To be honest I didn’t realise how good he was until these two games that he’s played.

“He’s a young lad and to come in like that, he’s shown maturity and hopefully he keeps his spot.

“It’s a big step up from League One obviously. He’s a good lad as well around the place and I’m pleased for him to have played so well in these past two games.” Ramsdale is set for his toughest test yet when champions Manchester City come to town on Sunday (2pm).

Cherries were only beaten deep into stoppage time by City two seasons ago and in March were edged out 1-0 at Vitality Stadium, although the hosts failed to register a shot on goal and only retained 18 per cent possession.

And Smith is hoping for a different type of contest on Sunday.

He said: “Hopefully we give them a bit more of a game than last year. I don’t think we had a shot.

“It was 1-0 but we were basically defending the whole game. Personally, I wouldn’t like to do that again.

“But they’re so good it’s difficult to match them up really.

“We’ll work hard during the week and see if we can get a result.

“It’s probably the hardest game to play in the league to be honest.

“We know it’s going to be another physical game and we’re going to have to battle in that one.”

He added: “I think it was a massive win (on Saturday) against Aston Villa because the week before (against Sheffield United) we didn’t win.

“We knew City was coming and I think to get the three points at Villa, it’s less pressure going into the City game and hopefully that will make us perform better.”