Chelsea youngster Nathan Ake has been in impressive form during his loan spell at Bournemouth so far this season, and the Cherries want to make it a permanent switch.
Having been given a chance to play regular football, the 21-year-old has grabbed the opportunity with both hands and has scored three goals in eight Premier League games so far this season, albeit with Bournemouth struggling defensively.
However, the latter hasn’t been enough to persuade Eddie Howe that he doesn’t want the Dutchman on a permanent basis, with The Sun revealing that Chelsea have a clause in his contract which allows them to recall him in January.
In a bid to counteract that clause, Bournemouth are hoping to negotiate a £10m transfer fee which would see him stay at the Vitality Stadium and continue to develop under Howe’s stewardship with the assurances of regular first-team football.
That is something he won’t get at Chelsea despite the fact that Antonio Conte continues to search for defensive reinforcements, as the Italian tactician will be looking at more experienced and reliable options to compliment what he already has at his disposal.
Displacing the current back three of Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz and Gary Cahill will be difficult enough, but with John Terry, Branislav Ivanovic and Kurt Zouma also sitting on the bench, there is a serious pecking order that Ake would have to climb.
As a result, staying at Bournemouth seems to be the most sensible decision, but whether or not he’s willing to end his future plans of eventually playing for Chelsea remains to be seen.