One-time Chelsea Young Player of the Year Nathan Ake's wonderful loan season at Premier League newcomers Watford ended on a most positive note last night when he was named the Hornets' Young Player of the Season. Congrats, Nathan!
YOUNG PLAYER OF THE SEASON: The winner is Nathan Ake, who excelled while playing 28 times for #watfordfc this seasonhttps://t.co/8OthTQI9Xv
— Watford FC (@WatfordFC) May 18, 2016
It's not often that our loans work out as well as this one did for the 21-year-old left back, who's also capable of playing (and perhaps just as good) at defensive midfield and center back. Add in the fact that he really is just 21 even though it seems like he's been around forever -- he made his Chelsea debut at 17 -- and Ake's future looks fairly bright.
There had been some talk of him perhaps staying with Watford for another season, but as of right now, he and his Ruud Gullit hairdo look to be heading back to Chelsea and joining up for Antonio Conte's first pre-season in charge. Plenty of changes are expected at Chelsea, but if we're looking to build from within, Ake should be near the top of the list of potential youngsters to integrate into the first-team.