AFC Bournemouth have announced their fourth signing of the summer, albeit not a high-profile one, Connor Mahoney joins the Cherries on a free transfer deal after his previous contract with Blackburn Rovers expired in the summer.

After Asmir Begovic, Nathan Aké and Jermain Defoe, Mahoney becomes another addition to this exciting young team that Eddie Howe is putting together, he will be joining the U-23's for the time being as he develops himself to get ready for Premier League action.

Mahoney a bright spark for Rovers

Mahoney caught the eye with his positive displays in the Blackburn shirt towards the end of the Championship campaign as the Riversides suffered relegation from the second tier of the English football leagues.

It was rumoured that the young winger was set to join Nottingham Forest earlier, however, he felt that a move to Bournemouth and working under a young manager like Howe would be beneficial to him.

He said,"I think I’m ready to step up and challenge myself,”. He further spoke about his style of play and said,"I’m a young, hungry player, who wants to attack and get past my man.I like to get fans off their seat and I’m trying to make my way in the game."

Mahoney was full of praise for Howe and his staff, he said, "Working with Eddie Howe and his coaching staff will be a dream come true, so to be able to do that day in, day out will get the best out of me.”

Howe has high hopes for Mahoney

Howe had warm words of welcome for the England U-17 and U-18 international, who made his debut for Accrington Stanley at the age of 16.

The Cherries boss said,"I’m very pleased to welcome Connor to the football club". He continued by saying that He is a player the club has "very high hopes for".

He further spoke about Mahoney's talents and said, "He has a lot of potential and hopefully it will be a really good deal for both him and us".

Howe also reflected on Mahoney's displays for the Rovers and said,"He put in a number of eye-catching appearances for Blackburn in a short space of time at the end of last season, so we quickly evaluated the situation and made a move for him.

Speaking on Mahoney's future, Howe said,"There’s a lot more to come from him and we will look to develop his talent".