FORMER AFC Totton player-of-the-season Baily Cargill has been tipped as an AFC Bournemouth captain of the future by manager Eddie Howe.

Cargill skippered Cherries to victory in the third round of the FA Cup at Birmingham earlier this month.

And the Winchester-born 20-year-old, who grew up as a Saints fan and had a highly successful spell on loan with non-League Totton in 2012/13, could again be handed the armband when Cherries visit Portsmouth in the fourth round on Saturday.

The defender, capped by England under-20s, has yet to feature in the Premier League but has been named in several of Howe’s matchday squads.

“I felt Baily leading out the team at Birmingham was the right thing to do," said Howe.

“I feel he is a future captain of this football club because he has all the ingredients.

“He has the right character, the right attitude, he trains well every day and is an excellent player.

“He played very well at Birmingham. It was difficult for him because he was on the right-hand side of defence which, for a heavily left-footed player, wasn’t easy for him to adapt, but he did very well.

“I’ve got really high hopes for Baily and just hope he kicks on from this point.”