What’s going right for AFC Bournemouth and what can they achieve?

We check out the Premier League’s surprise package

The Premier League table is already taking a familiar shape. Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City occupy the top three spots, with Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur in fourth and fifth. Yet AFC Bournemouth are breaking the mould in sixth.

Eddie Howe’s men have impressed in the early season, clocking up six wins from 10 matches and collecting 20 points from 30 available. Another 26 more and they’ll equal their record tally in the Premier League.

So we decided to take a look at what’s going so right down at the Vitality Stadium this season.

Recruitment

Bournemouth have been burned by big money transfers in recent years. Jordon Ibe, Benik Afobe, Max Gradel and Lys Mousset have all arrived for a decent fee – with each one failing to properly impress. Go further back and you can add one time-record signing Tokelo Rantie to that list.

So the capture of talismanic midfielder David Brooks was a welcome return to form for Eddie Howe and co. The Welsh youngster was plucked from the Championship in the summer and has shone straight away in the Premier League. His goal against Fulham at the weekend was his third of the campaign, with Howe singling him out for praise after the match.

Brooks is only one man in a team which is performing better than the sum of its parts. But his character and background is indicative of the type of recruitment that has served Howe so well over the years. It’s no surprise that his acquisition has seemingly lifted the Cherries to a new level.

Case for the defence

A big issue for Bournemouth in the Premier League has been their inability to defend as a unit. The Cherries have conceded 67, 67 and 61 goals in each of their three seasons in the top-flight. That works out a rate of almost two per game.