Bournemouth’s record signing Jordon Ibe has been a disappointment, manager Eddie Howe has said following his side’s third-round exit from the FA Cup.
Bournemouth, who made 11 changes to the starting line-up that drew 3-3 against Arsenal in the league last midweek, were defeated 3-0 by Millwall on Saturday.
Ibe, who made only his 12th start at the club, failed to make an impact against the League One outfit as Bournemouth could not produce a single shot on target during the full 90 minutes.
“He hasn’t been a regular in the team and that will be a disappointment for him and for us,” Howe said of the 21-year-old winger.
“I still feel there’s a lot of potential in there, but obviously he’s got to fulfil that when he gets chances ...”
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Ibe, who is yet to score for the Cherries, signed for the club at the start of the season from Liverpool for a reported fee of 15 million pounds ($18.29 million).
Howe said he had been “excited” by the overall potential of the line-up, but admitted they did not live up to his expectations.
“We picked players that we haven’t seen regularly in the Premier League, we gave them an opportunity to express themselves’” the 39-year-old said.
“Individually they are very good players so I was excited to see it. Obviously the reality proved different.”
Bournemouth are currently ninth in the Premier League and are now out of both the domestic cup competitions this season, having lost to Preston North End in the EFL Cup in September.
* Reuters
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