Cherries recruit Lewis Grabban is determined to fulfil his ambitions at Dean Court – by helping to fire his new club into the Championship.

The 24-year-old yesterday passed a medical and penned a three-year contract to officially complete his transfer from Rotherham United.

Grabban becomes boss Paul Groves’s second signing of the close season after the capture of fellow forward Josh McQuoid earlier this week.

The ex-Crystal Palace and Millwall man, who had also been a target for Crawley Town, is understood to have cost Cherries in the region of £300,000 – although the fee is likely to remain undisclosed.

Versatile Grabban earned the move after scoring 18 League Two goals for the Millers last term.

He revealed Cherries’ desire to move up a level and to play passing football were key factors in his decision to join the Dorset club.

Grabban told the Daily Echo: “My ambition is to play as high as I can and it is a bonus that I am back down south because that is where I am from.

“Being closer to London and my family is great but it is not my main focus. It is more important where I am going to be playing my football and what is going to benefit me and help me to progress my career.

“Shaun Brooks told me about where the club wants to be – aiming for promotion this season – and my ambition is to be back in the Championship. The style of football Bournemouth want to play is what I agree with.

“I am enthusiastic about football being played on the floor and I am not a fan of long ball. When they said to me that was how they wished to play – and I knew previously Bournemouth didn’t play long ball anyway – it was one of the main factors in me coming here.”

Grabban, who describes himself as a forward who can play in a central or wide role, insists he is ready to thrive in the third tier.

He said: “I played the majority of my games for Millwall in League One, I played League One with Brentford and League Two with Rotherham last season. Hopefully, that has added to my experience and I can crack on again in League One.

“I have got experience at this level and I haven’t got any worries or fears about playing in it.”

Grabban joins a growing list of frontmen available to manager Groves but he is relishing the battle for a starting place.

He added: “Competition encourages players to be better, especially if they are ambitious to do better in games and in training.

“Inevitably, that will raise the standard of the whole squad.”