Bournemouth transfer news: Eddie Howe insists there has been no contact from Chelsea or any other club regarding Nathan Ake

Eddie Howe has dismissed reports suggesting Bournemouth defender Nathan Ake could leave in the transfer window insisting they have “had no contact from any other club.”

Ake, who left Chelsea for £20million in 2017, has been linked with a return to Stamford Bridge this month.

However, ahead of their match with Chelsea at the Vitality Stadium on Wednesday, Cherries manager Howe says he has no concerns regarding the Dutch international’s future.

“We love working with him (Ake), we think he’s got outstanding attributes, he’s getting better and better in his position,” said Howe.

“The speculation, as it has been all January, has been purely that – as with all our players.

“We’ve had no contact from any other club so it’s business as usual.”

The arrival of Chris Mepham for £12m from Brentford last week was the second defender signed by Bournemouth this window, following the loan addition of Nathaniel Clyne from Liverpool.

Ahead of Thursday’s deadline day, the club have also been linked with Chelsea’s out-of-favour midfielder Danny Drinkwater, while Tyrone Mings could depart on a temporary basis.

Howe added: “We hope the majority of our business is done, if not all of it.

“We are very pleased with the business we have done this window, but there’s one game to go so you can never say with any certainty what’s going to happen.

“I have learnt a long time ago never to give clear-cut answers in this situation because you can then have to act in the last few hours.”

On Mings, Howe said: “That’s a possible. Tyrone has been dreadfully unlucky since he signed for the football club.

“He’s such a talented lad, he’s desperate to play so we’ll wait and see.”