Eddie Howe issues Sean Longstaff defence

In a recent press conference, Eddie Howe was asked about Sean Longstaff and his importance to the team after calls for him to be dropped.

He did not feature against Fulham on Saturday, with Howe opting for a midfield three of Bruno, Joelinton and Willock, but it's been a topic of debate in the early weeks of the season after seeing Longstaff start ahead of Sandro Tonali.

Howe admits he's now facing the "toughest" midfield selection dilemma since he took the job now Tonali is back from a ban and everyone, bar Lewis Miley, is fit, but he was eager to defend Longstaff and his role in the side, revealing he's often top of the Premier League running stats; something that was missed on Saturday as our engine room was overrun.

“You just have to look at his (Longstaff) qualities," Howe said. "He is highly intelligent and understands the team’s objectives in and out of possession.

“Technically, he is a very good player, and he has high energy. If you look at his running data week to week, it is usually one of the highest in the Premier League. He brings a lot of energy to the team and that is what we would miss if he is not playing.

“It is always difficult to talk about one player in detail, but Sean has been very, very good since I have been here as manager. He’s brilliant to work with from my perspective and I think his general performances have improved.

“He still has areas to work on, like every player, but he has been fundamentally important. He has performed really well, and played near enough every game when he has been fit.

“Competition now is higher than it has ever been. He is going to know that and be very aware that he is competing with very good players for a starting place. That’s a battle I hope elevates every single one of them to play better than they think they are capable of.”

With Bruno, Joelinton, Willock, Tonali and Longstaff all to choose from, Howe then discussed his weekly headache on who to pick; not that it's a bad problem to have. “Is it the toughest midfield selection conundrum I’ve had in my time here? Yeah, I think so, but these are the decisions that we wanted when we signed those players," Howe said.

“We felt we needed those, especially for a season in the Champions League. Then when you add Lewis Miley to that group, you’ve got six outstanding central midfield players.

“But a club like ourselves, with the ambitions that we have, we need that strength in depth, and we possibly don’t have that in other positions in the squad. So, my wish is that they all stay fit, they all push each other, and I have some really tough decisions to make.”

When everyone is fully fit, I'm sure we all agree that Tonali must start alongside Bruno and one of Joelinton or Willock, but Howe's challenge is to get that midfield balance right - especially from a defensive point of view - without Longstaff's industry and ability to plug gaps.