Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri is already under pressure at Stamford Bridge after a terrible run of results has left the club once again fighting for their Champions League hopes.
The former Napoli coach is struggling to change the culture of a Chelsea squad which has flattered to deceive over the past 18 months but it is impossible to lay all the blame at the feet of the Italian boss.
The transfer policy of the west London club has come under intense criticism in recent years and rightly so, with players like Kevin De Bruyne, Mo Salah and Romelu Lukaku all being allowed to leave the club before going on to make their names elsewhere, and there is another player they can add to that roll of shame
Nathan Ake was one of the key men for Bournemouth at the heart of their defence on Wednesday night as the Cherries thrashed Chelsea 4-0 at Dean Court and it was yet another reminder of the shambolic decision from the London club to let him go.
The Dutchman was allowed to walk away from Chelsea and join Bournemouth for £20m on a permanent deal back in 2017 and the evidence since then has proven that it was an awful move for the selling club.
The Chelsea squad, inherited by Sarri, is woefully thin on the ground in terms of defenders with David Luiz still a regular in the team despite his advancing years and clear lack of discipline when it comes to playing in a back four.
Gary Cahill and Andreas Christensen have been almost completely frozen out in recent times and it is fair to say that Sarri would love to have a ball playing and athletic centre-back like Ake at his disposal.
The 23-year-old has grown into one of the best defenders in the Premier League under Eddie Howe in recent months and continues to be linked with a move back to the top end of the Premier League table as a result. Chelsea will be left ruing their decision to let him go at a time when they had an ageing squad and there should have been the foresight to keep hold of a player who they had developed since he was 17-years-old.
Chelsea have made mistake after mistake when it comes to selling players in recent years and it does now appear that the club are reaping what they sow, with Ake the latest player to remind the fans of just how badly the club have handled their outgoings.
