Fraser feared being given the boot at Bournemouth

Ryan Fraser is enjoying a breakout Premier League season, but the Bournemouth winger admits he had to do something this term or risk being shipped out.

Having joined the Cherries in January 2013 for just £400,000 from Aberdeen, Fraser started just six games as Bournemouth won the Championship in 2015.

And as Eddie Howe navigated Premier League survival in their first Premier League season Fraser was out on loan with Ipswich.

But this season the 23-year-old has starred in a Bournemouth shirt, netting three times – including in wins against Liverpool and Swansea – as well as turning in a series of eye-catching displays in his maiden campaign in the top flight.

That saw him called up for Scotland’s double header during this international break, only for a swollen knee to curtail his chances of earning his first full cap.

Eddie Howe

However, Fraser is simply loving life at Bournemouth with the fears of being sent away from the Vitality Stadium well and truly behind him.

“If it hadn’t happened for me this season then I think the gaffer might have said ‘that was it’. I have been here four years and had my ups and downs,” Fraser said.

“I played lots of games in the first year in the Championship but didn’t play many in the second. The loan at Ipswich helped me massively.

“But if I hadn’t made an impression this season, I would only have had a year left on my contract and, you never know, they might have tried to sell me. I don’t know, I didn’t ask.

“It was make or break for me and, luckily, I got my chance and have been rewarded with another contract.”