Nathan Aké
From TheChels.info - The Chelsea Football Club Wiki
| Nathan Aké | |
| |
| Full Name | Nathan Benjamin Aké |
| Date of Birth | 18 February 1995 |
| Place of Birth | Den Haag, Netherlands |
| Position | Central Midfielder |
| Chelsea career | 2011 - 2017 |
| Debut | 26 December 2012 |
| Games (goals) | 17 (0) |
| Other clubs | Feyenoord Reading (loan) Watford (loan) Bournemouth (loan) |
Nathan Aké (born 18 February 1995 in Den Haag, Netherlands) is a Dutch defender who played for Chelsea between 2011 and 2017.
Contents |
Pre-Chelsea career
Nathan joined Chelsea from Feyenoord, where he played since the age of 12 after joining them from ADO Den Haag.
Chelsea career
Nathan's move was a controversial one, as Feyenoord were none too pleased at losing another youth prospect to a foreign club. One of those, Jeffrey Bruma, had joined Chelsea years earlier, and the move stirred potential legislation in the Dutch parliament.
He lined up at left-back and defensive midfield early in his Chelsea career before settling in at centre-back and impressing enough to earn a debut for Dermot Drummy's reserve team in December 2011 against Arsenal. He continued to play occasionally for the reserves but largely focused on the 2011-12 FA Youth Cup campaign, where despite missing the second leg of the Final due to international commitments, he ended up with a winner's medal.
He was promoted to the Under-21 squad on a full-time basis for the 2012-13 season and was assigned the number 57 shirt for first-team squad involvment. Having previously featured in the first-team match day squad as an unused substitute he made his debut on Boxing Day 2012, coming on as a late substitute in a 1-0 away win against Norwich City.
Further first team opportunities followed in the FA Cup against Middlesbrough and the Europa League against Rubin Kazan, whilst he was named as an unused substitute in the Final against Benfica. He made his full Premier League debut on the final day of the season at home to Everton, and played a key role in the eventual winning goal, scored by Fernando Torres.
Under the returning Jose Mourinho, he returned to the Under-21 fold on a full-time basis at the start of the 2013-14 season and was named captain. During the January 2014 transfer window, Ryan Bertrand was loaned out to Aston Villa, meaning Aké stepped up to the first team squad with regularity to provide cover at left-back. His remaining Under-21 appearances were mainly in that position whilst he made his first Premier League appearance of the campaign on the final day away to Cardiff. Three days later he played his part in the Under-21s' title win at Old Trafford against Manchester United.
He took the number six shirt ahead of the 2014-15 season and featured occasionally in the first team before Christmas, most notably in the League Cup tie at home to Bolton Wanderers. With regular football not forthcoming later in the season however, he joined Reading on a month-long loan in April 2015 and impressed during his brief stay at the Madejski Stadium.
Regular Premier League football beckoned in 2015-16 as he joined newly-promoted Watford on a season-long deal. Quickly becoming a regular at left-back under Quique Sanchez Flores, he made almost thirty appearances in all competitions, scored against Liverpool, and was named the club's Young Player of the Season. Another loan followed in 2016-17 as he joined Bournemouth, scoring 3 goals in 11 games and impressing enough to earn a return to Chelsea late in the January transfer window.
Brought back by Antonio Conte to ostensibly provide cover at left centre-back or wing-back, he would ultimately make just five appearances in total, the most notable coming at Wembley in the FA Cup Semi Final victory over Tottenham Hotspur.
On June 30th it was announced that he had joined Bournemouth permanently for a club-record fee believed to be £20m, with Chelsea inserting a buy-back clause.
International
Nathan has represented the Netherlands every youth level and played for the Dutch in their victorious 2011 European Under-17 Championship campaign. He repeated his 2011 Under-17 success in 2012 as the Dutch beat Germany on penalties to retain their title, and he lifted the trophy as captain.
He made his senior debut in early June and was competitively cap-tied in their 5-0 win over Luxembourg, ending any interest from the Ivory Coast, for whom he was also eligible.
Career statistics
Youth, Reserve and Under-21 Football
| Season | Under-18 | European U19 | Under-21 | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |
| 2011-12 | 22 | 1 | - | - | 4 | 0 | 26 | 1 |
| 2012-13 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 25 | 2 |
| 2013-14 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 21 | 2 | 27 | 3 |
| 2014-15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Total | 28 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 43 | 3 | 83 | 6 |
First Team Football
| Season | Club | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| 2012-13 | Chelsea | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 2013-14 | Chelsea | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2014-15 | Chelsea | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 2014-15 | Reading (loan) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 2015-16 | Watford (loan) | 24 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 1 |
| 2016-17 | Bournemouth | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 3 |
| 2016-17 | Chelsea | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Chelsea | 7 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | |
Correct as of 26 May 2017
Honours
Senior
- Chelsea
Youth & Reserve
- Chelsea
- Netherlands
- European Under-17 Championships: 2011, 2012
