Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe is delighted to have Brett Pitman back at the club.

Pitman has linked up with the club's under-21s after Portsmouth boss Kenny Jackett confirmed he had given his blessing to him training with the Cherries.

Jackett yesterday told local media the Channel Islander was “not in my plans at the moment" before adding “but should that change, I won't hesitate to contact him".

Last week, Howe revealed: “Brett rang me and said “would you mind if I trained with your under-21s?"

“I didn't go into detail about his own situation – I said “of course".

“It's good for our young players to see an experienced player of Brett's calibre coming in and training with them. It can only boost them and do them good to look at him and learn from him.

“He's very close with Shaun Cooper who's the main coach there so I think it's win-win all round for us.

“I don't think we lose anything but also it's nice to help someone who's done so much for the football club historically when they needed our help.

“Brett will always score goals wherever he goes, whoever he plays for. He's just always had that instinct. He's still one of the best finishers I've ever worked with."