MANAGER Eddie Howe believes striker Callum Wilson has the attributes to maintain his fruitful start to his Cherries career.

Wilson netted his eighth goal of the season – and his seventh in the Championship – as Cherries registered a 1-0 win over Charlton on Saturday.

The 22-year-old’s third-minute strike saw Cherries move into ninth place in the table and ended the Addicks’ unbeaten start in the league.

Wilson has started all 12 of Cherries’ Championship encounters following his big-money move from Coventry in the summer.

Howe said: “You need a goalscorer and, ideally, you need more than one and everyone’s challenge in the league is to try to find those players.

"Callum has settled in very quickly and the players have responded really well to him.

“It wasn’t just his goal against Charlton, it was his work ethic and his partnership with Brett Pitman. They worked tirelessly to put defenders under pressure and to hold up the ball.

"For me, that was the stand-out feature and the goal was the icing on the cake for all that work.

“You don’t get eight goals in such a quick time if you haven’t settled in well. It was always going to be a tough ask for Callum coming from League One but he has hit the ground running. He looks like he is enjoying his football.

“What struck me immediately with Callum was his work ethic.

"When you take away the goals, if you have a striker who puts defenders under pressure, asks questions all the time and never gives them a minute’s peace, I think you have half a chance.

“The pleasing thing is that he is a very good finisher as well and you can see that when he gets a chance, he works goalkeepers, he scores goals and I’m sure there is a lot more to come.

“There are a lot of players in our squad who have stepped up and made the transition from League One.

"From our perspective, you have to look at the key ingredients – do they have the right physical profile, do they have a good attitude and will they improve with the demands you are going to place upon them? I think Callum has answered all those questions so far.

“I don’t think you can look too much at partnerships. Although they are important, you would want every player to be able to play without somebody else because you never know how long you can keep everyone fit.

“I have no doubts that Callum can play with Brett, Yann Kermorgant and Tokelo Rantie. We have a good mix of centre forwards, they all bring unique skills and I thought Brett and Callum were very effective against Charlton.”