Despite their two-man advantage, Bournemouth really struggled to break down Tottenham in a fiery Vitality Stadium encounter earlier this month.
Predictable play from the Cherries allowed Hugo Lloris and his defenders to deal with everything — until the 91st minute.
Just when the match looked like it would end in a stalemate, Nathan Ake popped up at the death to head in a Ryan Fraser corner in what was a very interesting game for the 24-year-old.
With an array of injuries to contend with, Eddie Howe opted to deploy Ake in midfield and to devastating effect.
The Dutch centre-half played a good game overall on the day and has since come in for praise from his manager.
“It’s not ideal that we have moved him all these different positions but against Tottenham I thought he was excellent in midfield,” Howe told the Daily Echo after his side’s victory.
“When you see a player who gives everything, no matter where he has played, it was fitting he got the goal at the end and it was a crucial goal.”
Based on that, could Ake have a future in Bournemouth’s midfield? There is no reason why he cannot.
As he showed in that game against Tottenham, the former Chelsea man was composed on the ball, distributed it well and worked extremely hard.
Technically, you will struggle to find a better footballer in the Premier League outside of the top six.
Staying on that topic, Ake continues to be linked with a move back to Stamford Bridge (De Telegraaf via TEAMtalk).
But if the Netherlands international is relishing playing in midfield and sees his future there, then remaining at the Vitality Stadium could be his best bet.
In Howe, he has a coach that has absolute faith in him when it comes to playing in that area of the pitch.
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