There is a quiet optimism about what Eddie Howe and his squad – including new signings Asmir Begovic, Jermain Defoe and Nathan Aké – can achieve this season

Guardian writers’ predicted position: 11th (NB: this is not necessarily Ben Fisher’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)

Last season’s position: 9th

Odds to win the league (via Oddschecker): 750-1

Two months before the end of last season Eddie Howe posed a couple of rhetorical questions deep inside the underbelly of Dean Court. Bournemouth had just beaten West Ham United 3-2 to end an unforgiving nine-match winless run.

“When you are tested and doubted, how strong can you be?” Howe asked. “How good a leader can you be in the bad times just as much as the good times? How you come through a spell like this is a really big test for a leader.”

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Howe passed with flying colours, leading the club to an unprecedented ninth-place finish, overseeing only two defeats in the final 12 matches. Bournemouth have made relatively light work of exceeding expectations since promotion to the Premier League in 2015, reaping the rewards of Howe’s thirst to improve and evolve.

Last season, for example, the club introduced innovative orange glasses to players, to be worn for two hours before going to bed. The spectacles help reduce blue light – emitted from mobile phones or tablets – that suppresses the production of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin. “It is something we are trying to make sure the players are fresh, or fresher than our opponents, going into games,” Howe said in February. “That is an example of the detail we are trying to attain in each area.”

This summer the club took the groundsman, Daniel Gonzalez, on their pre-season training camp to Marbella, to ensure they – quite literally – had every blade of grass covered. Asmir Begovic, one of four summer signings, has described Howe’s work ethic as “second to none”. The goalkeeper said: “It rubs off on the whole group – I haven’t seen many managers work as hard as him. His attention to detail is huge . He does not leave any stone unturned.”

Howe’s hunger to broaden his horizons has taken him across Europe, with the 39-year-old watching Real Sociedad in May, after previous trips to Athletic Bilbao, Fiorentina and Empoli. It is testament to Howe, his staff and squad that there is a quiet, sky’s-the-limit optimism about what Bournemouth can achieve in their third season in the top flight.

Off the pitch significant progress has been made with regards to building a new stadium for the 2020-21 season after identifying their preferred site within Kings Park. Meanwhile their summer transfer business points to a reluctance to stand still.

They have improved the spine of the team with the arrivals of Begovic, Jermain Defoe and Nathan Aké, who joined for a club record £20m. All three are not only quality additions but healthy personalities who have given a fillip to team-mates and supporters. Like many of the club’s coaching and playing staff, each has an affinity with the club.

Defoe, who scored 15 goals for Sunderland last season, has spoken with excitement and warmth about rejoining the club where he famously scored in 10 consecutive league games as a teenager. Begovic, too, had a loan spell with Bournemouth – when he dislodged the current goalkeeping coach Neil Moss from the lineup – and returns as a safe pair of hands for the foreseeable future. As for Aké, his stellar performances on loan whet the club’s appetite to bring him back on a permanent basis. Beyond that Connor Mahoney arrives with a bounce from Blackburn Rovers.

However, promising as the recruitment has been, Howe has always emphasised the importance of retaining his best players. No player has left for a so-called bigger fish – and why would they want to? Only those on the periphery, such as Lewis Grabban and Marc Wilson, have been told they can depart.

The defenders Steve Cook and Adam Smith and midfielders Dan Gosling and Harry Arter have signed new four-year deals in the close season. Cook excelled in the heart of defence last season, playing every minute in the Premier League, with Howe saying the former Brighton defender has “really grown” and “come on huge amounts”.

The defence, though, has long been a sticky point, with the manager conceding his backline had rightly taken flak last season. The return of Aké will, however, see the mature young Dutchman rekindle a partnership with Cook that was blossoming nicely before Chelsea recalled Aké in January. Where that leaves the captain, Simon Francis, who has had joy at centre-back and right-back over the past two years, remains to be seen.

The calming presence of Begovic seems a shrewd upgrade on Artur Boruc, who may count himself a little unfortunate to lose his spot as the No1 goalkeeper after a very good season. Adam Federici and Aaron Ramsdale, the impressive England Under-19 international, ensure strength in depth in that position.

In Joshua King Bournemouth have a striker brimming with confidence after 16 goals and a marvellous finish to last season. Howe has said numerous times he feels the former Manchester United forward “can be anything he wants to be”. Only six teams scored more than Bournemouth’s 55 league goals last season.

If King can strike up a partnership with the 34-year-old Defoe – who still harbours hopes of playing for England in Russia next year – it could prove a devastating combination. Add into the mix Lys Mousset, Benik Afobe and Callum Wilson, who is fighting back from a second cruciate ligament injury, and Bournemouth are unlikely to be short of goals. Max Gradel, the subject of interest from Toulouse among others, appears rejuvenated after a positive pre-season. Mousset, the 21-year-old former Le Havre striker, remains the most exciting alternative.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Bournemouth striker Joshua King ‘can be anything he wants to be’, according to Eddie Howe. Photograph: Steven Paston/PA

“He has all the attributes to be a really good performer for us,” Howe said. “He has got an eye for goal, he is very strong, he is very quick. Technically he has got all the ingredients. We needed to work on his fitness and his ability to endure the high pace of the Premier League, and he looks in a lot better shape this season.”

Bournemouth have ample midfield options, too, with Jack Wilshere’s exit likely to fashion greater opportunities for Lewis Cook, the England Under-20 captain who lifted the World Cup in South Korea. Meanwhile Andrew Surman, Arter and Gosling have another year of priceless Premier League experience. Bournemouth have form for hurting teams in wide areas but Jordon Ibe will be among those striving for greater consistency.

The team begin at West Bromwich Albion, against a familiar – and friendly – foe in their former manager Tony Pulis, before hosting Watford and Manchester City. Whatever happens, as is always the case with Bournemouth, it promises to be fun.