It seems Jordan Ibe is finally settling into life at the Vitality Stadium. The winger hasn’t had much success since his record-breaking £15m move from Liverpool in 2016. But in the last couple of matches, he has convinced Eddie Howe that he has the ability to do much more and his excellence on the field also helped him to sweep away the September ‘Player Of The Month’ award for Bournemouth.
He defeated Nathan Ake, Andrew Surman and Josh King who took the respective second third and fourth places in the voting. Ibe has struggled to justify his price tag but the 21-year-old has finally hit the right note which he has been craving for a long time.
Eddie Howe has been pushing the player to play out of his skin and the results are finally showing. He produced a magical performance against newbie Brighton & Hove Albion as he laid on two goals against the Seagulls to guide his team to their first win this season.
Unlike his counterparts, Howe loves to play clean and clear attacking football. His philosophy is based on possession and he has tried to implement this through his side.
Although the Cherries are currently struggling with their performances, Howe’s presence at the club has brought a new trend to the Vitality Stadium which has been immensely successful so far. The 39-year-old has guided the team from the bottom of the League One to Premier League and he should be given all the credit.
Howe has developed a number of players during his time and Ibe is the latest player who has shown signs of encouragement in the last few games. Bournemouth has the knack of buying young players and then developing them according to their needs.
Wingers are very crucial in Howe’s strategy and Ibe has a very good chance to cement a place in the starting lineup for years to come. Howe likes to unleash his wingers to combine up with the attackers as his setup allows the wide men to use the flanks with full throttle.
Ibe has the pace and can thrive in this kind of a system. He can also chip in with delightful crosses so Howe needs to be very patient with him. There is stiff competition on the side as the likes of Adam Fraser and Junior Stanislas are the preferred choice.
But nobody is guaranteed a permanent place in this beautiful game so Ibe should concentrate on putting the hard yards and he can easily turn into a star in the future.
