Report: Nathan Ake now wants to join Chelsea in January after Frank Lampard praise

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Chelsea are eager to bring in Nathan Ake in the January transfer window from Bournemouth.

According to the Daily Express, Chelsea have already decided that they will trigger Nathan Ake’s £40 million release clause in January.

Frank Lampard wanted to see how Antonio Rudiger performed before making a final decision on bringing Ake back to Chelsea, but with the Blues still struggling at the back, the Bournemouth defender is now set to return to Stamford Bridge in January.

Ake has played regularly at Bournemouth, where he has made major improvements to his game.

And the Dutch defender now reportedly is keen to go back to Chelsea, where he could play an important role until the end of the season.

Lampard is a known fan of Ake, as he said to the Bournemouth Echo recently: “I think Nathan came through here and when he has gone to Bournemouth to be able to play regular football, I think he has done fantastically well.

“He has shown himself as a really good defender in the Premier League.”

If Ake does come in at Chelsea he will help strengthen a defensive unit which hasn’t looked the most sturdy throughout the campaign so far.

Although Fikayo Tomori and Kurt Zouma have earned praise, they were not totally watertight when they played together, and even Rudiger’s comeback hasn’t stopped Chelsea from conceding in recent games.

Chelsea have suffered a dip in form lately, and it could be that Lampard spends big in January to try and stop his side from sliding down the table, with plenty of other targets also lined up.