John Terry recounts urging Conte to give Ake a chance at Chelsea
- John Terry spent most of his career playing for Chelsea
- The Aston Villa deputy boss left Stamford Bridge in 2017 after close to two decades
- Terry revealed he told former Blues boss Conte to give Nathan Ake chance to blossom at the club
- The Dutchman made four appearances and was bundled out of the club at the of the season
Chelsea legend John Terry has recounted how he liaised with Antonio Conte to exclude him from his squad in a bid to accommodate Nathan Ake in his last season.
The former England international was hoping the Dutch youngster would blossom into his best at Stamford Bridge.
So he decided to offer his spot for the defender in the early parts of the 2016-17 season but that really never happened.
Terry said while speaking with snooker icon Stephen Hendry during an Instagram Live Q&A that he told Conte to give Ake a chance, even if it was watching from the bench.
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The youngster got his chance but only made four appearances all through the season before he was sold to Bournemouth as reported by SunSport.
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."
After retiring from active football, Terry has launched into the football management as he is the current Aston Villa boss.
He played a key role in their promotion from the English Championship league last season after finishing second on the log.
Legit.ng earlier reported that former Chelsea captain John Terry has narrated how the former club manager Jose Mourinho reflects his mind games on players, saying the 'Special One' once said he would sell him, Mirror reports.
The Portuguese tactician returned to the Stamford Bridge side in 2013 after he earlier spent four seasons at the club between 2003 and 2007 helping the London club to win the English Premier League back-to-back.
Terry recounted the day the manager charged at him in training saying he will sell the England star alongside his partner and center-back Gary Cahill.
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Source: Legit.ng