Nathan Ake Reveals the Reason Why He Left Chelsea to Sign for Bournemouth

Nathan Ake insists that the reason he left Chelsea for Bournemouth was to play more matches, foreseeing he may be out of favour at Chelsea under Antonio Conte. Ake spent the majority of last season on loan with the Cherries, featuring regularly at left-back under Eddie Howe.

The defender signed officially for Bournemouth, costing them £20m from the champions. The Blues recalled Ake from his loan spell in the latter half of last season and the Mail Online reported the 22-year-old was left frustrated after only featuring five times for Conte's side. 

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"The decision to come here was to be able to play more games, which is important for me," Ake said. But Chelsea boss Conte was not too pleased with the decision of several academy players who chose to leave the club over the summer. 

Ake, along with Nathaniel Chalobah and Dominic Solanke opted for a move away from Stamford Bridge in order for more playing time elsewhere. "Sometimes I think the young players lose their patience very quickly," Conte said last week. "Young players think they can play easily in the first team, but that's not true. I have to pick 11 players - not just me, every coach."

In response Ake said he understood what Conte meant but the defender reiterated that Chelsea is a big club and that he would have found it difficult to break through long-term. Ake made ten appearances for Bournemouth last season, scoring three times - including the last gasp winner in the thrilling 4-3 win over Liverpool.