Bournemouth defender Nathan Ake was apparently a top target for Premier League strugglers Spurs – but what does Pochettino’s exit mean for him?
Nathan Ake has admitted that he was stunned to see Mauricio Pochettino handed his P45 by Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday night amid speculation that the Bournemouth defender is a target for the North London giants, speaking to Goal.
As recently as Sunday, The Sun (17 November, page 67) reported that the Dutch international centre-back was on Spurs’ radar with last season’s Champions League runners-up scouring the market for long-term successors to both Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen, who are out of contract at the end of the campaign.
Commanding in the air and composed with the ball at his feet, Ake certainly ticks a lot of boxes, even if his reported £75 million price-tag is likely to be well beyond what chairman Daniel Levy would be willing to pay.
And after scoring in Holland’s 6-0 thrashing of Estonia, the former Chelsea youngster admitted that he never saw Pochettino’s departure coming.
“What do I think about it? It’s hard to say,” Ake said. “These things tend to happen at these top clubs.
“It’s very unexpected because he had such a great year last season. This year not as much, but he’s still a top manager.”
Jose Mourinho was announced as Pochettino’s replacement on Wednesday morning and it’s fair Ake won’t be moving heaven and earth to reunite with a coach who he worked with during his formative years at Stamford Bridge.
The Portuguese is famously reluctant to throw young players into the action and Ake made only one appearance under Mourinho before leaving for Bournemouth in 2017.
“Jose Mourinho came and, without training, I got dropped into the second team. That was one of the toughest things for me, mentally. I was quite broken,” Ake, who had made a big impression the previous season under Rafa Benitez, told the Telegraph in March.
“Everything was going great, I played a few games, I was young player of the year and then I was in the reserves again.”
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