Chelsea’s £40m buyback clause for Nathan Aké expires in January — report

Whether Nathan Aké is a viable solution to our defensive woes remains a hotly debated topic, but there’s added urgency to the situation after today’s dispatch from The Athletic’s David Ornstein that Chelsea’s reported £40m buyback clause expires in January.

So if we want him back — and he wants to come back — we have to move quickly and decisively.

But despite recent speculation, this move seems to have been put on the back-burner already. Ornstein’s report admits that “no conversations” took place over the weekend between Chelsea and the Cherries (as the latter were busy consigning us to a fourth defeat in five), and while Manchester City and unnamed Spanish sides are watching, too, no “formal contact” has been made with any of them. Aké hamstring injury, set to rule him out for 4-6 weeks, probably hasn’t helped the rumors either.

Meanwhile, Lampard’s main concerns appear to be with Chelsea’s misfiring attack these days, and that’s where he had hinted that we might be targeting January reinforcements.

So while Aké’s buyback price makes this a relatively attractive deal (especially in today’s market), we just might end up passing.