Nathan Ake is on the verge of leaving Chelsea on a permanent basis, as we appear to have agreed a £20 million deal with Bournemouth. The Guardian reports that the transfer will be completed within the next 48 hours, thus bringing an end to a story of yet another failed attempt to create the next to John Terry. Chelsea’s youth system is increasingly looking like a pipeline to fund expensive transfers. However, a £20 million figure for Ake does sound fantastic and it is good business by Chelsea.
There have been widespread rumours about Ake leaving the club on a permanent basis. He was recalled from a loan spell at one month six months ahead of schedule, but this did not translate into first-team opportunities for the youngster. The 22-year-old spent most of the second half on the bench. He had only 98 minutes on the pitch in the second half compared to 733 minutes with Bournemouth in the first half.
Alex Sandro’s £61 million capture from Juventus is expected to be completed in the next few days along with Tiemoue Bakayoko from Monaco for around £35 million. Just like every other manager prior to him, Antonio Conte seems more interested in utilising the vast pockets of Roman Abramovich to sign the established first-team regulars rather than develop the youngsters. So far, Chelsea have not showed urgency in the transfer market, and this is one of the reasons behind the blues being rated at 10/3 by netbet.co.uk to win the title.
Keen to avoid a mistake made Romelu Lukaku, it is believed that Chelsea are discussing the possibility of inserting a buyback clause in the sale agreement. The blues are also keen on inserting a 15% sell on clause to profit from any future rise in market value of the player.
Ake may have only featured in 17 games for Chelsea, but he leaves the club after six years at the club. He leaves Chelsea after having won the Europa League and the League Cup.