da cassino： Chelsea boast one of the most affluent youth academies in world football that rapidly churns out young talent and while some have earned their opportunity to shine in the first team, others have been tossed by the wayside; sent out on loan or sold for a profit.
da poker： The likes of Reece James and Conor Gallagher have flourished in the senior setup since being given the chance, with the former being lauded as the best right back in the country on numerous occasions, although an injury-ravaged spell has somewhat curtailed his progression and prevented him from continuing his stunning form.
Mason Mount was another who prospered for Chelsea after rising through the youth ranks, making 195 appearances for the club before transferring to Manchester United for £55m this summer.
But where James, Gallagher and Mount are examples of the Blues utilising the talent from their youth setup effectively, the likes of Marc Guehi, Jamal Musiala, Declan Rice and Michael Olise have all seen their value skyrocket elsewhere since departing the club as youngsters.
Despite featuring on five occasions in the first-team at Chelsea, Nathan Ake is another star who left west London in 2017 and has become a revelation elsewhere.
How much did Chelsea sell Nathan Ake for?
On the back of their Premier League title triumph in 2016/17, spearheaded by Antonio Conte, Chelsea were stacked with defensive options and the Italian didn't see how Nathan Ake was going to dislodge the likes of Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen, Antonio Rudiger, David Luiz and Gary Cahill.
Instead, the Blues thought it would be better for his development to go elsewhere and after a successful loan spell at Bournemouth, the Cherries snapped him up for a club-record £20m in the summer of 2017.
In hindsight, Conte should have seen the potential in the Dutchman and given him chances to impress in the first team, but he preferred to stick with an ageing defence that helped him win the league title, staying faithful to Cahill and Luiz without planning for the future.
Offloading Ake would be a decision they'd live to regret as fellow international teammate, Virgil van Dijk, backed to him excel at the very top and labelled him as a "fantastic player" following his sensational performances for Bournemouth.
The 5 foot 11 stalwart would go on to make 121 appearances at the Vitality Stadium and scored an incredible 11 times before proving van Dijk right by making a £41m move to Manchester City in 2020.
How has Nathan Ake performed at Manchester City?
Man City have an abundance of quality in all areas of the field, particularly in the defensive areas, meaning Nathan Ake has had to bide his time for opportunities.
During his first two seasons at the club, the 28-year-old struggled to stamp a regular place in the team, making a combined 24 appearances in the Premier League.
While rarely featuring could have deterred the Dutchman, it actually spurred him on to become an integral part of Pep Guardiola's winning machine as he appeared on 41 occasions in all competitions in the 2022/23 season and was lauded as "exceptional" by the Spaniard for his contributions to their treble winning success.
Ake is first and foremost, an exceptional one vs one defender, who rarely gets beaten for pace, but he's also superb in possession and is crucial to kick-starting attacks from deep with his brilliant passing range, standing out among the best defenders in Europe's top five leagues for his ability on the ball.
According to FBref, when compared against his positional peers across the past year, Ake ranks within the top 1% for passes completed, the best 2% for progressive passes and pass completion, excelling with his ability to break the lines with his passing while manoeuvring out of tight spaces when the opposition active their press.
In the current climate, it's difficult to find a top-level defender who is complete when it comes to his out-and-out defensive attributes but also the influence they have on their side in the build-up phase, and Ake is certainly in that bracket.
Currently valued at a whopping £52m, as per Football Observatory, and entering the prime years of his career, not showing patience in the £160k per-week star is one of many mistakes that Chelsea have made in recent times.