Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe has all but confirmed that Nathan Ake will return to parent club Chelsea during the January transfer window.
The 21-year-old has impressed during his half-season stint at the Vitality Stadium, featuring 12 times in all and scoring three goals.
Antonio Conte recently revealed that he was closely monitoring the versatile midfielder's development on the south coast and, speaking ahead of the Blues' meeting with Peterborough United on Sunday, hinted that he may recall Ake later this month.
Asked whether the Netherlands Under-21s international could be on his way out, Howe told reporters: "It looks like that will be the case, but it's not 100% finalised yet."
A much-changed Bournemouth suffered a shock 3-0 defeat to Millwall in their FA Cup third-round tie on Saturday afternoon - a result Howe admits that he can have little complaint about.
"I thought they worked extremely hard. It was a big physical test for us - we know what they are like from goal-kicks and corners," he said.
"I think Neil has done a great job and the crowd played their part. They'll be very pleased with their afternoon. Whenever you come here you expect that atmosphere and expect the fans to get behind their team. From our perspective we have got to better at dealing with that – it's only noise.
"I've got no complaints. In terms of the result, Millwall deserved it. I can't disguise how I feel. I don't think the players threw the towel in or didn't do their best. It was a very difficult game to watch. We didn't gel."
Next up for Bournemouth is a trip to bottom-of-the-table Hull City in a week's time.
Daniel Lewis
