Nathan Ake who was initially supposed to spend the whole 2016-17 Premier League campaign on loan at Bournemouth has been called back by Chelsea manager Antonio Conte, with the Italian manager feeling that the young Dutchman is ready for a first team spot at Chelsea.
Also read: FA Cup results
"I called him back because I think he's showing that he's ready to stay in the squad of Chelsea. Chelsea is his home. In the last season he played with Watford, and this season he was with Bournemouth. He's shown he deserves to stay at a great team like Chelsea."
"I'm pleased he's come back. Ake gives me an important option because we are playing with three central defenders. He can play on the left and in the middle. It's important to see in training sessions if he can also play wing-back," the Express.co.uk quoted the Chelsea manager as saying.
Nathan Ake struggled to find his form at Bournemouth initially but after scoring his first goal for the club in November against Stoke City, the 21-year-old became a regular at Bournemouth.
With Conte switching to his preferred 3-4-3 formation, he feels that he can offer Marcos Alonso a lot of competition down the left hand side. Also it was rumoured that Conte was going to dip into the transfer market for another wing-back, with the form of Marcos Alonso and Victor Moses dipping in recent weeks, but Ake's recall looks set to save the club millions.
With Kurt Zouma making his comeback for Chelsea last night and with Nathan Ake's ability to play at center back too, it offers Antonio Conte a lot more defensive cover for the rest of the season.
Following his return to Chelsea, Nathan Ake paid tribute to Bournemouth fans, as well as thanking Howe and his Bournemouth team-mates.
Here is a post from his Instagram account.
