Eddie Howe has conceded keeping Nathan Ake at Bournemouth is not in his control.
Chelsea are strongly considering a Stamford Bridge recall of the 24-year-old Dutch international.
Manchester City are also keeping tabs on Ake but the Blues have the right to first refusal. They will have to pay £40m to secure his services, be this January or in the summer.
“It would be obviously my wish to hold onto everybody but some of these things are out of our control,” Howe told Sky Sports News. “We will wait and see. I don’t want to give you evasive answers but I am in no control of that at the moment.
“A lot of things with transfers [from] trying to bring players in, trying to keep the squad we have is out of my hands. Obviously, we will be doing our best to be as strong as we can into the second half of the season.”
Could this mean, Chelsea are already on their way to complete the transfer? Have they Bournemouth actually received a recall statement? Antonio Rudiger did return for the Blues in the 1-2 Champions League win over LOSC Lille.
If the German is fit for selection along with Andreas Christensen, Fikayo Tomori and Kurt Zouma in the squad, is there a need to spend £40m on Ake?
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