Chelsea have reportedly cooled their interest in Bournemouth defender Nathan Ake.
The Blues have been the front-runners for the Netherlands international over the past year due to buy-back clause in his contract at the Vitality Stadium which could see them resign Ake for £40m.
And after seeing their two-transfer window ban reduced upon appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) last month, rumours of a return to Stamford Bridge for 24-year-old began to heat up again.
The Telegraph claimed that Frank Lampard was to assess the fitness of Antonio Rudiger before deciding to make an attempt to bring Ake back to west London - less than three years after the club sold him to the Cherries for £20m.
Although, it appeared that Chelsea were to face strong competition to get a deal over the line.
The Telegraph also reported that Ake was high on Mikel Arteta's wishlist at Arsenal, while Manchester City and Everton have also been credited with an interest in the Bournemouth defender.
Tottenham Hotpsur have also been named among the clubs that have reportedly shown interest in Ake over the last couple of months, but as reported by football.london, a January move is unlikely due to the player's £40 million price tag.
As a result, Chelsea seemed to be the hot favourites.
However, Sky Sports have reported that Lampard has dropped his interest in the defender and is focusing his attention on other targets in the January transfer window.
This has since been backed up by the Evening Standard who have also revealed why the Blues boss is no longer interested in Ake.
They put this down to doubts over the Dutchman's suitability.
It's well documented that Lampard favours a high defensive line and the main concern was that Ake wouldn't be able to adjust to those demands, therefore will look to other targets.
Chelsea's stance is certainly a boost for Bournemouth as Ake looks set to stay put until the summer at least and last week Eddie Howe revealed there had been no reason to fear the defender's exit.
"Nothing to report on Nathan (Ake)," he said in his press conference before the FA Cup tie against Luton. "He is recovering well from his injury, we will see when he is back fit."
