Chelsea hero John Terry wanted Nathan Ake to take his place on the Stamford Bridge pitch.

The Blues hero Terry was eager for Bournemouth defender Ake to take his place on the Stamford Bridge pitch.

Kurt Zouma of Chelsea, John Terry of Chelsea and Nathan Ake pose with the Premier League Trophy [Getty]

John Terry says he was willing to sacrifice minutes to get Nathan Ake chances at Chelsea. The former England captain revealed that he spoke to former Blues boss Antonio Conte to leave him out of the squad in his final season at Stamford Bridge to hand Ake more playing time as he reckoned the Dutchman had the attributes to become a top defender. Ake was sent out on loan to Bournemouth at the start of the 2016-17 season, but returned to Chelsea in the January transfer window. The 25-year-old eventually played a few games before Conte sealed the Premier League title, but he was eventually sold for £20million to the Cherries in 2017.

John Terry won the Premier League under Antonio Conte in his last season at Chelsea. [Getty]

Speaking on an Instagram Live Q&A with snooker legend Stephen Hendry, the former centre-half said: '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. '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.' The now Aston Villa No 2 Terry added: '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.'

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