Chelsea winger Christian Atsu joins Bournemouth on season-long loan deal

Bournemouth have completed their fourth signing of a notably busy week, with Chelsea winger Christian Atsu agreeing to join the Premier League newcomers on a season-long loan deal.

Having secured promotion to the top-flight following a fantastic season that culminated in Eddie Howe's side winning the Championship title ahead of Watford, the Cherries have certainly wasted no time in their quest to strengthen a talented squad in preparation for the rigours of top-flight football.

After rewarding former loanee Artur Boruc for his fine form during the 2014/15 campaign with a permanent one-year contract, Bournemouth further strengthened their goalkeeping options with the capture of Reading stalwart Adam Federici before making it a hat-trick of free agent signings on 28 May with a deal for Joshua King following the striker's departure from Blackburn Rovers.

A potential loan move for Ghanaian international Atsu, who failed to register much of an impact during a similar stint at Everton last term, had been rumoured for several days and both clubs have now confirmed the agreement which is still subject to approval from the relevant authorities.

"I think he is a player, although he is a younger player, he is a player with outstanding experience when you look at his career he has had," the League Managers' Association (LMA) manager of the year Howe told Bournemouth's official website.

"He has had a lot thrown at him – Porto, Vitesse, Chelsea, on the international stage - and he's done very well on the international stage as well. We are loaning a player of huge potential, again we had to fight off several other Premier League clubs to get him, so we are very, very pleased.

"I think he will bring pace and ability to beat a man one-v-one which is very important in the Premier League, so for all those reasons I think he is a great signing for us."

Having joined Chelsea from FC Porto for a reported £3.5m ($5.3m) fee in September 2013, Atsu was immediately dispatched to Eredivisie outfit Vitesse Arnhem and has yet to make a single senior appearance at Stamford Bridge.

His most recent spell at Everton proved very disappointing indeed, with the 23-year-old restricted to just 13 appearances in all competitions under Roberto Martinez.