BOSS Eddie Howe politely declined to comment on the possibility of Cherries tabling a bid for Nathan Ake out of respect to his parent club Chelsea.

Reports in the national press suggested Cherries were preparing to offer around £10million for the 21-year-old Dutchman.

Ake, who is on loan at Vitality Stadium, has netted three times in his past six games in the Premier League, including winning goals against Stoke and Liverpool.

Asked whether Cherries were in the market for Ake, Howe replied: “I think that is something for down the line.

“He is very much committed to Chelsea at the moment and is their player so I wouldn’t want to say anything disrespectful to them.

“Chelsea have been brilliant with us. We took Christian Atsu last season and Nathan this season. We have built up a good relationship with them.

“I am sure he is a player they will look at and think, potentially long term, he could get in their team.”

Cherries will discover early next month whether Chelsea will exercise their right to trigger a recall clause in Ake’s loan agreement.

Howe added: “We haven’t had any detailed conversations about it. When you are in the flow of the games, you focus day to day on making sure the team is as prepared as it can be.

“It’s out of our hands and we can’t do anything about it so, hopefully, Nathan will stay with us. We will know where we stand pretty soon.”