Nathan Ake has told Antonio Conte he has to make the most of a short career in football, after the Chelsea boss questioned the young players who have left Stamford Bridge in the transfer window.

Bournemouth signed Ake in a club-record move, reportedly worth £20-million last month, while Dominic Solanke left for Liverpool, Bertrand Traore signed at Lyon and Nathaniel Chalobah joined Watford.

Conte said he felt young players were wrong to lose patience in their search for first-team football, and believes they are receiving poor advice from their representatives.

But Netherlands international Ake does not feel he would have been a regular for Chelsea in 2017-18, and wants to make the most of his time in the game.

‘It is a short career, but I’m 22 now and I feel like I have had a good experience playing games, and you just want to continue doing that,’ Ake told reporters when asked about Conte’s remarks after Bournemouth’s 1-0 friendly defeat to Valencia.

‘I understand what he said, but I think we also know that Chelsea is a big club and for myself it was going to be difficult to come in and play straightaway.

‘The decision to come here was to be able to play more games, which is important for me and that is why I came here.

‘There are no guarantees that I will play coming here, but if I train hard and play well then I will have a chance. Hopefully, I can be in the team from the start of the season.’

Ake spent the first half of 2016-17 on loan at Bournemouth, making 10 Premier League appearances, before being recalled by Conte in January.

He played in just two top-flight games as the Blues won the title and made a further three outings in the FA Cup – including the semi-final victory over Tottenham at Wembley.

– This story originally appeared on FourFourTwo.co.za