Chelsea are considering bringing Nathan Ake back to Stamford Bridge in the summer and are ready to activate a buy-back clause in the deal that saw him join Bournemouth.
The 23-year-old failed to establish himself at Stamford Bridge and was sold in 2017 while Antonio Conte was still in charge, but he has since become a mainstay in the Cherries’ back-line.
Chelsea are set to offload Gary Cahill, potentially this month, while David Luiz is looking increasingly likely to leave on a free transfer in the summer, meaning the west London club will need reinforcements.
And The Sun report that Ake is a major target for the club, with a buy-back clause in his transfer meaning he can sign for £40million – twice what Bournemouth paid.
Since then he has established himself as one of the best young defenders in the Premier League, attracting interest from the likes of Tottenham and Manchester United.
He is particularly appealing to Chelsea because he counts as homegrown, having join their academy at the age of 16. The Blues are in desperate need of more homegrown players, with Ross Barkley, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Callum Hudson-Odoi the only English players to rack up significant minutes under Maurizio Sarri this season.
Chelsea included the buy-back clause to avoid a repeat of the situations that happened with Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku – the latter was sold for £28m to Everton before moving to Old Trafford in a £75m deal.
Meanwhile, Fulham are trying to bring in Cahill to provide experience in their back-line and, according to reports in Brazil, Luiz is ready to accept an offer from Benfica to return to his old club when his contract expires.