FULL-BACK Max Aarons is hoping a string of consistent performances for Cherries can lead to his “main goal” of breaking into the England squad.

Aarons was set for a switch to Leeds United, only for Cherries to swoop and sign him from Norwich City for an initial £7million in the summer, the fee potentially rising to £12m.

The 23-year-old has impressed so far, slotting seamlessly into the side at right-back, starting 10 of Cherries’ 11 Premier League fixtures.

He registered his first assist for the club during Saturday’s 6-1 defeat at Manchester City.

Aarons racked up 27 caps for England at under-21 level between 2019 and earlier this year, his cycle coming to an end by playing the full 90 minutes of the European Championship final.

He helped England clinch the trophy, win a 1-0 win over Spain in Georgia.

Several players Aarons has played alongside at under-21 level have gone on to represent the senior side, including Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Eddie Nketiah, Marc Guehi, Aaron Ramsdale, Emile Smith Rowe, Levi Colwill and Conor Gallagher.

“My main goal is to play for England and to get to that level,” Aarons said, in an interview with BBC’s Football Focus.

“That’s the long-term goal, but short term it is to keep improving as a Bournemouth player.

“I think if you do that in the short term, that can lead to that success in the long term.”

Discussing life in Bournemouth and his decision to join, Aarons said: “I’m loving it. When I travelled down here, I flew down with my agent and my family and initially when I was landing, just looking out, I was just like wow, the place looks unbelievable.

“The beach is the best I’ve seen, especially in the UK. It’s amazing.

“In the summer it’s delightful, waking up every day and seeing that.

“I’ve seen the progression of the club.

“The whole project and the players that the club had signed already before me, it was something I really wanted to be a part of.

“It’s high intensity, high energy, a lot of pressing. You have to be aggressive, want to win the ball back and want to get on the ball in possession.

“It’s a great style of play because I feel like it suits me down to a tee as well, which is another reason why I wanted to come here.”

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Aarons dons the number 37 shirt at Cherries, opting for that due to Ryan Fredericks occupying the number two he wore last season at Norwich.

“When I came through at Norwich, that (37) was my first ever number,” Aarons explained.

“I played with that for a season, we got promoted and I became number two.

“When I was signing here I was asking about the numbers and they said that the two was obviously taken.

“It (37) might be a bit of a random number to some people, but it has a lot of relevance to be fair.

“I try not to be too over superstitious, but with something like that, if it brings back good memories of success, then I like to go back to it.”