Nathan Aké excited to go on loan and play a full season of first-team football

It's hard to believe since he's been around the Chelsea first-team seemingly forever, but Nathan Aké is still just 20 years old.  He won't turn 21 until February, by which time he will have hopefully played a ton of minutes for Premier League newcomers Watford.

"I'm really excited because I've been waiting for this, to get on-loan and play a lot of games, and Watford have given me this opportunity."

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"I can play in midfield, left-back or centre-back. I'm a player who works really hard, a left-footed player who tries to play football on the ground. But I can also do the other side of the game like defending, and I just try to help the team really."

-Nathan Aké; source: Watford FC

Of course there are no guarantees of playing time from manager Quique Sanchez Flores, but the ex-Atlético Madrid boss has apparently taken quite a liking to the young man.

"He's somebody we've been looking at for some time. He gives us many options and Quique is a big admirer of his. Quique has had endless chats with him and sees him playing in numerous positions. He'll be a really good addition to the squad and has fitted in immediately."

-Scott Duxbury, Watford CEO; source: WD Sport

Midfield is where we've deployed Aké for the majority of his 12 career Chelsea appearances — the first coming as a 17-year-old in 2012 — but it sounds like his new boss is mostly planning on using him as a left back.

"Ake's best position is left-back. He's a quality player and can play central defender and midfield. It's very important. He's a good defender, he is very technical with the ball, he passes very efficiently and is a good player. He can play different positions."

-Quique Sanchez Flores; source: WD Sport

Having joined just one day prior, Aké was not in the matchday squad for Watford's 0-0 draw against West Brom over the weekend.  Hopefully that will not be the case too often going forward and Aké, armed with a brand new five-year Chelsea contract, will be able to take a good step forward in his development.