Aaron Ramsdale has been rewarded for establishing himself as Bournemouth’s first-choice goalkeeper this season with a new long-term contract.
The 21-year-old finished last season on loan at AFC Wimbledon, putting in a string of excellent performances to help the club survive in Sky Bet League One, but is now Eddie Howe’s undisputed number one having been an ever-present in the Premier League this season.
His first clean sheet came in Saturday’s goalless draw against Norwich, continuing the impressive rise for the England under-21 international, who joined Bournemouth from Sheffield United in January 2017 before a subsequent loan spell at Chesterfield.
“I’ve put in a lot of hard work on and off the pitch to get to this position,” Ramsdale said.
“It’s been a relatively short space of time but I’ve have had two good, different loan spells and I am now seeing the benefits of that hard work in the Premier League each week.
“We have a great goalkeeping department here, with the coaches and other goalkeepers, and we are always pushing each other to be the best we can be.
“That can only help us all and I’m over the moon to have signed a new contract.”
Terms of the new deal were not disclosed.
Howe put his faith in Ramsdale after the summer departure of Asmir Begovic on loan, selecting him ahead of the veteran Artur Boruc and Mark Travers, the 20-year-old who earned his first Republic of Ireland cap in September.
“I’m very pleased that Aaron has been rewarded for his impressive start to the season,” Howe said.
“He has matured a lot over the last year or so and has taken superbly to the challenge of playing every week, whether that was on loan at Chesterfield and Wimbledon, or here this season.
“Aaron is a very talented goalkeeper who is at an important stage of his career and his development, and I’m delighted that he has pledged his future to us.”
