Bournemouth are on the verge of re-signing versatile Chelsea defender Nathan Ake in a club-record deal worth £20m, reports The Guardian.
Ake spent the first half of last season on loan at Bournemouth before being recalled to Chelsea in January following his stunning form in the lead up to Christmas.
Bournemouth, who have already acquired Asmir Begovic from Chelsea this summer, tried to sign the 22-year-old on a permanent deal towards the end of January but Conte wanted to keep Ake with the first-team to help them win the Premier League.
The Netherlands international struggled to get much game time and is now free to leave Chelsea on a permanent deal as Eddie Howe’s side look set to shatter their club-transfer record for the second summer in a row.
Bournemouth signed Jordon Ibe from Liverpool in a £15m deal 12 months ago, but Howe will be hoping that Ake will have a better impact than the 21-year-old winger, who was thoroughly disappointing last season.
An announcement could be made in the next 48 hours, with Ake poised to sign a five-year deal with the Cherries and join up with his teammates for pre-season training next month.
Bournemouth won 50% of the Premier League matches Ake started in last season compared to 26.7% when he was not available to feature in the starting XI.
For more stats on Nathan Ake, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
