Chelsea have exercised the option to recall Nathan Aké from his loan deal at Bournemouth and the defender will return to his parent club with immediate effect.
Aké signed a five-year deal with the London club in 2015 but arrived at Bournemouth on a season-long loan from Chelsea in June.
Michael Emenalo, the Chelsea technical director, and Antonio Conte agreed to loan the versatile Dutchman to Bournemouth, under the initial proviso of Aké gaining midfield experience in the top flight however Aké excelled in central defence and at left-back for Eddie Howe’s side. Aké made 12 appearances in all competitions for the club.
“I want to say thank you to all the fans at AFC Bournemouth, I really loved my time at the club and I have learned a lot here,” Aké said in a message posted on Instagram on Sunday. “I also want to say thank you to the manager, staff and players for all the support and I wish them the best for the rest of the season.”
Howe, the Bournemouth manager, told the BBC after his side’s surprise 3-0 FA Cup defeat against Millwall that losing Aké “would be a huge blow to us as he’s done so well”, while highlighting the Dutchman’s quality.
Howe is already without the Bournemouth captain, Simon Francis, through suspension, for the next two matches while the centre-back Marc Wilson is an injury concern. Aké missed Bournemouth’s defeat at Millwall on Saturday and was one of 11 changes made by Howe from their Premier League draw against Arsenal.
“It’s easier said than done to say we are going to recruit a player in similar stature to Nathan and I’m not sure there’s too many out there,” Howe said. “So that’s going to be a difficult one for us but we will assess our options and try and make the right decisions.”
Bournemouth travel to Hull City in the Premier League next Saturday before home matches against Watford and Crystal Palace.
