JOHN TERRY has revealed he told former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte to leave him out of the squad for the entirety of his final season – in order to give Nathan Ake a chance.
JT was itching to see the Dutch youngster, 21 at the start of the 2016-17 campaign, given a chance at Stamford Bridge, even if it meant sacrificing his own minutes.
Speaking with snooker legend Stephen Hendry on an Instagram Live Q&A, Terry revealed he told Conte, who returned to Stamford Bridge on Sunday with Tottenham and was involved in a bust up with Thomas Tuchel, to give Ake the senior match-day experience, even if it was watching from the bench.
But Ake only played four times all season and was sold to Bournemouth in the summer after Terry’s retirement, having spent the first half of the season on loan on the South Coast.
Chelsea did go on to win the Premier League that season, with a back-three of Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz and Gary Cahill.
Looking back at his final season in West London, Terry said: “I went to see [Conte] around Christmas time.
“I was like ‘gaffer, listen you’re putting me on the bench and we’ve got Nathan Ake’, who for me was an unbelievably talented young player.
“I said ‘put him on the bench because the chances of him coming on are really slim, it’s going to be great experience for him’.
“‘He was on the bench for about seven, eight or ten games, and he ended up playing against Spurs in the [FA Cup] semi-final that year.
“And it was just little stuff like that. I’m not sure players would have done what I did.”
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Ake ultimately played just four times for Chelsea in 2016-17 before he was sold to Bournemouth for £20million.
Terry quit the club to join Aston Villa, where he was assistant manager, but recently returned to Chelsea to join their academy staff.
Ake, now 27, has gone on to receive international recognition with Holland and signed for Manchester City in a £40m deal in 2020, winning the Premier League in his first season at the Etihad.
He also helped the club secure back-to-back Prem titles last season and also has an EFL Cup to his name.
The Dutchman has started both of City’s opening Prem games this term, keeping two clean sheets in the process.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
