Nathan Ake says he is heading back to Chelsea a better player after his loan stint at Bournemouth.

The Dutch defender scored three times in 12 appearances in an impressive spell for the Cherries.

His performances have warranted Blues boss Antonio Conte to recall Ake from the south coast to fight for his place in the Premier Leagues leaders’ first-team.

Ake said he has enjoyed his time at the Vitality Stadium, and picked out his last-minute winner against Liverpool in a 4-3 win as being the highlight of his stay.

“From the first day I joined I was made to feel part of the group,” the 21-year-old said. “Everyone took me in and welcomed me and as a result both myself and my partner settled quickly.

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“Over the six months I feel I have developed as a player, both on and off the pitch.

“To start with I wasn’t playing too much, but I dealt with that mentally, kept going and was happy when I got my chance.

“I was able to learn a lot from the manager. He spoke to me a lot about how I could improve and I picked up a lot of little ideas and different ways of thinking.

“Of course the Liverpool game was the standout moment. It was a crazy game and to score the winning goal was an amazing feeling. It’s something that I’ll remember for the longest time.

“The ambition now is to continue to improve and break into the team at Chelsea.

“It’s a great team and the manager there has given me a lot of confidence, so it’s something I’m looking forward to.”

Leicester City’s Premier League title defence hasn’t exactly gone to plan this season but new signing Wilfried Ndidi believes the fighting spirit he has seen from the team already, bodes well for the future.

Ndidi signed from Belgian signed Genk for £17million at the start of this transfer window and made his debut in the 2-1 FA Cup third round victory against Everton over the weekend.

The 20-year-old played alongside Papy Mendy and Danny Drinkwater in a midfield three and impressed against the Toffees.

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Romelu Lukaku gave Everton a 63^rd-minute lead but a four-minute double from Ahmed Musa turned the tie on its head and booked Leicester’s place in round four – giving them much-needed respite from a league campaign that sees the champions currently 15th in the table.

“It felt good,” said Nigeria international Ndidi of his first Leicester appearance. “I’m really happy because the lads showed good fight.

“It was a nice surprise to make my debut, but I just had to be ready. Every time in training, I always try to do my best.

“We showed great spirit. With this fight, I think we can do well. The group performance is more important than my performance. I always hope the group can perform, then I look at my own performance.”

John Stones isn’t really expected to chip in with many goals, yet the defender claims he was long overdue after opening his Manchester City account.

Stones nodded in Nolito’s corner late on during the 5-0 thrashing of West Ham in the FA Cup third round at the London Stadium last Friday.

The 22-year-old moved to the Etihad Stadium from Everton over the summer and it took until his 26th appearance, against the Hammers, to find the net for the first time.

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Stones had something of a perfect day as he also helped City keep a clean sheet – just the third he has been involved in since mid-September – and the highly-rated centre-half was understandably chuffed with his day’s work.

“It’s been a long time coming to be honest! I should have scored a few in previous games and it’s nice to get one in a special cup,” said Stones.

“To get a clean sheet for us defenders, which we haven’t had too many of, we’re thrilled.

“I thought we moved the ball well, first and foremost, and that got us the chance.

“We changed our system a bit, playing as a diamond with the front three. The overall performance was really good.”

Joe Gomez admitted it was a relief to be back playing at Anfield again after injuries saw him on the sidelines for 465 days before returning for Liverpool.

It wasn’t the perfect comeback for Gomez though as his side were held to a 0-0 draw by Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup third round.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp named the club’s youngest ever starting XI for the fixture, including the 19-year-old Gomez who was signed by former boss Brendan Rogers from Charlton.

And after getting a taste of the atmosphere at Anfield, the defender admitted he was more determined than ever to secure a regular spot in Klopp’s side.

“It meant a lot to me after being out for such a long time, it’s something I dreamt of,” he said.

“But the main thing was the result and we’ve got to try to get that in the [replay]. For me, it was nice to be back playing at Anfield.

“Coming back out to that crowd at Anfield was something in the back of my mind the whole time.

“It was important for me to get back to this point but now [I need to] keep pushing on and try to get back playing and [be] regularly involved.

“It was a big moment for me to be back involved again but it’s about pushing forward and [to] keep learning.”

After nearly eight months on the sidelines following knee surgery, Danny Welbeck made his Arsenal return in the FA Cup against Preston and Arsene Wenger believes there is still time for the 26-year-old to fulfill his footballing dreams.

The 26-year-old required surgery to rectify knee cartilage damage sustained in a 2-2 draw with Manchester City last may.

Welbeck missed England’s disastrous Euro 2016 campaign as a consequence and Wenger insists that the former Man United forward has shown enough mental resilience to return to the Gunners side with a bang.

“To miss the European Championship and on top of that, he missed the start of the season, but he worked hard and certainly victory [in his comeback match] will make him stronger,” Wenger said.

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“But you have to go through it and that was a very difficult moment for him. I think he suffered a lot, but I hope, touch wood, he will now have a dream career.

“When the players are injured they are a little bit out of my sight because I sent him away as well. When a player has a long-term injury, sometimes it’s better you get him out and away, that he lives without the players and people who are injured as well.

“Because when he comes in he sees everybody go out there and you have to stay inside… the football club is built for people who are competitive. So sometimes mentally it’s difficult, so we let him go outside and miss this time.

“Of course we spoke with him a lot, but at the end of the day, when something like that happens to you, you deal with it on your own. But we try to support him, of course.”

Ashley Williams has called on Everton to recover quickly from FA Cup heartache and focus on their Premier League campaign as they bid for a top-six finish.

The Toffees were dumped out in the third round by Leicester City – who they beat 2-0 in the Premier League during the Christmas period.

Ahmed Musa scored twice for the Premier League champions after Romelu Lukaku had initially given Everton the lead.

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The Toffees sit seventh in the league table, nine points off sixth-placed Manchester United, and face Manchester City this weekend.

Williams admits the squad are frustrated to have been knocked out of both cup competitions earlier than they would have liked, following their 2-0 home defeat to Norwich City in the EFL Cup third round, but insists there is plenty still to play for.

“It’s disappointing obviously to be out of both the cups early on,” said the 32-year-old.

“It will be difficult to get into the top six because those six teams are very strong. We just have to concentrate on our league form and keep pushing and see how many points we can get.

“We have a lot of those teams above us to play still, we just have to try to at least stay where we are and see if we can close the gap a little bit.”

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte believes Nathan Aké is ready to compete for a spot in his title-chasing side, having recalled the defender early from his Bournemouth loan.

The Blues bounced back to winning ways after their first defeat in 14 Premier League games by Spurs in midweek, sweeping aside Peterborough United 4-1 in the FA Cup on Sunday.

That game saw the return of Kurt Zouma to the Chelsea backline, with the defender finally recovering from a horror injury that had kept him out of the entirety of the season so far.

But with Aké impressing for the Cherries in recent weeks, Conte insists the versatile 21-year-old Dutchman also has a role to play in Chelsea’s run in, and will be tested out in the wing-back position.

“I called him back because I think he’s showing that he’s ready to stay in the squad of Chelsea,” he said.

“Chelsea is his home. In the last season he played with Watford, and this season he was with Bournemouth.

“He’s shown he deserves to stay at a great team like Chelsea. I’m pleased he’s come back.

“Ake gives me an important option because we are playing with three central defenders. He can play on the left and in the middle. It’s important to see in training sessions if he can also play wing-back.”

Conte has also welcomed back Kenedy and Charly Musonda – who were loaned out to Watford and Real Betis respectively at the start of the season – to his first team ranks, and will assess whether the pair will also contribute to Chelsea’s title challenge in the coming weeks.

He added: “In this [transfer] window it’s very difficult to find great players, but we are seeing if we are able to find the opportunity to improve this team.

“We will continue with these players, Ake is coming back and Kenedy and Musonda are working with us.

“It’s important for me to evaluate this profile and make the best decision.”

Mark Noble admits he and his West Ham teammates are relishing a re-match with former boss Sam Allardyce this weekend.

Allardyce took charge of West Ham between 2011-2015, masterminding their return to the Premier League.

Since then Allardyce has been in charge at Sunderland and had an ill-fated 67 days at the helm of English football, before taking over at Crystal Palace last month.

But Noble – whose side lost to both Manchester clubs last week – knows sentiment will have to be put to one side this weekend.

Noble added: “We have played against Sam before. Football moves on so fast and Sam will enjoy coming back.

“He had a great time here as manager and what he did for this football club getting us promoted and helping stay in the Premier League. He should be well respected.

“We have now got two big games coming up that we want to get points out of. Everyone needs to dig in and win games.”

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The Hammers were undone by Man City on Friday night at the London Stadium and Noble admits his side must put that 5-0 defeat to bed, and fast.

“We had a tough game here on Monday and the boys dug in to try and get a result against a very good Manchester United side,” he added.

“We tried to do the same again on Friday night but when we went 1-0 down it was an uphill battle for us.

“I did say a couple of weeks ago there is no point playing well and losing games. In this day and age with the pressure involved all that matters is the three points.”

Mauricio Pochettino was pleased to give some of the younger members of his squad extended game time as Tottenham booked their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

The likes of Cameron Carter-Vickers and Harry Winks started the 2-0 victory over Aston Villa, with Pochettino also bringing Joshua Onomah and Georges-Kevin Nkoudou off the bench.

Despite resting a number of big names, Spurs still progressed relatively comfortably in the Cup, and Pochettino believes his team will have taken a lot from the game as they extended their winning run to five matches.

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“Villa had good organisation and made it difficult for us but I’m very pleased because we showed a solid performance,” said Pochettino.

“It’s true it wasn’t our best game but it’s always difficult for the players who are not involved regularly, they had the chance to play, many played 90 minutes and fantastic, I’m pleased with them all.

“I’m happy because it was a great opportunity for those players to show their quality and push the level in the team.

“The players from the bench had a real impact and it’s fantastic to see how they all performed because we’re a team and that’s the most important thing.”

Middlesbrough eventually broke down Sheffield Wednesday and eased through to the FA Cup fourth round, but manager Aitor Karanka insists he needed to shake his side into action at half time.

The Premier League side looked laboured against their Championship opponents in the opening period, and Karanka’s stern words clearly did the trick after the break as goals from Grant Leadbitter, Alvaro Negredo and Marten de Roon saw them safely through, despite having Daniel Ayala sent off.

The win was Boro’s first in four games and just their second in ten as they continue to adjust to the rigours of the Premier League.

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But, despite sitting just two places and four points above the drop zone, Karanka is desperate for a strong FA Cup run.

“In the second half it was completely different,” Karanka said. “I told them at half-time that I thought we were playing a friendly game, and for me the FA Cup isn’t a friendly, it’s a really important game.

“In the way we’ve been preparing for the game this week, wanted to play this game. It’s sometimes difficult against a team in a lower division to get the right mentality, but in the second half we went to the pitch with the right attitude.

“Even when we lost Dani everyone was consistent, committed, fighting for every ball and that was the main thing.”