Football

Frank Lampard rates Chelsea transfer target Nathan Ake


Nathan Ake has been linked with a return to Chelsea in January (Picture: Getty)

Frank Lampard admits he has not been surprised by Nathan Ake’s emergence as a top quality Premier League defender.

The Netherlands international graduate from Chelsea’s youth academy while Lampard was still in his pomp as a midfielder at Stamford Bridge.

Ake enjoyed productive loan spells at Reading and Watford before Antonio Conte blooded him the first team towards the end of Chelsea’s most recent title-winning season.

The 24-year-old then moved to Bournemouth on loan and made that switch a permanent one in the summer of 2017 for a fee in the region of £20million.

With Chelsea’s defence having proved to be there Achilles heel this term, despite the emergence of Fikayo Tomori, Ake has been linked with a return to west London with Chelsea understood to have insisted upon a buyback clause when they sold him to Bournemouth.

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Ake,  who is also being monitored by Manchester City, has been ruled out of tomorrow’s fixture against Chelsea with a hamstring injury which could scupper a potential move in January, not that Lampard is looking that far ahead at present.

‘I don’t know how clever it is,’ said Lampard when asked about Ake’s release clause. ‘It is what it is.

‘I think Nathan came through here and when he has gone to Bournemouth to be able to play regular football, I think he has done fantastically well.

‘He has shown himself as a really good defender in the Premier League. In terms of the back four and with the defence I have I am very happy. Again, it won’t be anything I consider until I feel otherwise and at the minute we can do no business.

‘We have to worry about Bournemouth tomorrow, Tottenham next Sunday, Southampton, Arsenal and Brighton. Then the window opens.’

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