John Terry has revealed he once Urged Antonio Conte to give Nathan Ake a chance in the Chelsea squad over him.
The Blues icon, who captained the club to five titles at Stamford Bridge in just under two decades, featured alongside Ake for five years before the Dutchman was sold to Bournemouth for £20million in the summer of 2017.
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Ake was part of the Blues’ title-winning squad in 2016/17 but only made two appearances during the entire campaign, with Gary Cahill and Terry preferred as Conte’s first choice defenders.
But following a disappointing start to the season, the Italian boss switched his formation to a back five which saw David Luiz drafted into a back three alongside Cahill and Cesar Azpilicueta.
The tactical switch proved to be a masterstroke from Conte as Chelsea went on a brilliant run to claim their second title in three seasons.
And despite admitting he was disappointed to be left out, Terry understood the reasons as the team were picking up good results in his absence.
Speaking on an Instagram Live Q&A, the 39-year-old said: “Even throughout that season, he was putting me on the bench.
“I went to see him around Christmas time, and 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.
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“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 10 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 done.”
Ake has established himself as one of the most promising centre-backs in the Premier League for his displays for Bournemouth.
And in January, Chelsea were believed to be keen to activate their £40m buy-back clause to re-sign the defender in January before opting against it.
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