BRAD Smith put the finishing touches to his move to Cherries before declaring the club could be an established top-flight force for years to come.

The adaptable left-back today penned a four-year deal at Vitality Stadium having joined from Liverpool for a fee believed to be in the region of £3million.

The 22-year-old became Eddie Howe's sixth summer recruit following the permanent arrivals of Jordon Ibe, Lewis Cook, Lys Mousset and Emerson Hyndman as well as the loan signing of Nathan Ake.

And Australia international Smith hopes to help the club improve on a 16th-placed finish last term.

He said: “Bournemouth did really well last season and I think the club can be a great team in the Premier League for many years to come. They’re just getting started.

“I think it’ll be a good fit for me and I can’t wait to get going."

Smith added: “It all happened quite quickly. I knew there was a bit of interest and then they put the bid in, Liverpool accepted and it went from there.

“I flew to America (with Liverpool) and was there for about five days. Once I found out the bid had been accepted, I stopped training with the team to make sure everything went the right way.

“It’s a great stadium here and it’s a great opportunity for me to come and play in front of the fans. Hopefully I’ll do well, learn a lot and progress in my career. "

Smith will be greeted by several familiar faces in the Cherries camp, most notably Ibe who he played alongside regularly at Anfield.

The New South Wales-born defender added: “I know Jordon well having played together in the under-18s and under-21s before being promoted to the first team. We’ve played together for many years.

“I also know Federici quite well since we’ve played together a few times for Australia. I also know Nathan Ake from a Scholar of the Year tournament a few years ago and it’ll be good to catch up with all the lads.”

Smith was speaking to the club website.