Tottenham are reportedly eyeing a move for Nathan Ake, who previously struggled under the management of Jose Mourinho at Chelsea.
The Bournemouth defender has made a real impression on the south coast, since leaving his boyhood club Chelsea in the summer of 2017.
According to the Daily Telegraph, Tottenham scouts have been watching the Dutchman closely under Eddie Howe and have been impressed with what they’ve seen.
The same report claims that Mourinho will look to bolster the Spurs defence in upcoming transfer windows, particularly given the uncertainty of the future of both Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen.
Yet if Ake is indeed a target, Mourinho may need to convince the 24-year-old to join him in north London after comments he made back in March during an interview.
Although at Manchester United his record of developing prospects improved, at Chelsea he handed out limited opportunities to young players.
One of those stars snubbed was Ake, something that left him feeling hurt and doubting his own ability.
He told the Telegraph earlier this year: “I went to the first team at Chelsea and played under Rafa Benitez and I always thought, ‘why is everyone saying setbacks are coming because everything is going up, up, up?’
“The season after Benitez left I thought, ‘this is going to be my season’.
“Then Jose Mourinho came and, without training, I got dropped into the second team. That was one of the toughest things for me, mentally. I was quite broken.
“Everything was going great, I played a few games, I was young player of the year and then I was in the reserves again.”
In his first interview as Tottenham boss, Mourinho vowed to give Spurs’ next generation of stars first team chances, if they’re deemed good enough.
“I really like this squad,” Mourinho said.
“Looking to the young players, there is not one manager in the world that doesn’t like to play young players and to help young players develop. There is not one.
“The problem is that sometimes you get into clubs where the work that is below you is not good enough to produce these players so I look to our history and you see that the academy is always giving the talents that the first team need.
“Of course I look forward to work with that profile.”
