O'Kane is central to Eddie Howe's future plans

I am pleased for Eunan that he has signed a new and no doubt better contract. His old contract would have ended in July 2015. He has certainly been one of the players of the season so far and with Lewis Grabban resigning on better terms as well it looks like Eddie Howe is keen to reward the players that he can see fulfilling their potential in the Championship. 

Eunan signs up for a longer contract at the Cherries.

The worries will also say that it is a fair indication that the club knows their is interest in Eunan and that there could be an approach by bigger clubs over the summer. We can only hope that Eunan chooses to sty in such a scenario or that if he is tempted to leave that his new contract would give Eddie Howe considerable cash to go out and replace him with an even better player.

Personally I am keen to see how Eunan develops in the Championship as he has only just begun to learn his deeper role in front of the back four and he is finding passes that other players just don't seem to see. If he also starts to get international recognition while playing at Bournemouth he may see no reason to look elsewhere. The new contract will also give heart to other players that team mates like Eunan believe in what Eddie Howe and others are doing at the club and that it is a good place to be.

The new three-and-a-half year contract sees Eunan signed up to the Cherries until the summer of 2017. He is still only 23 with the best years ahead of him and he appears to be one of the blocks that Eddie wants to build the future team around.