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Tottenham are being forced to wait with their interest in Bournemouth's Nathan Ake as Chelsea hold the key to his future, The Telegraph reports.

What's the word?

Mauricio Pochettino is keen to bolster his defensive line in January after a turbulent start to the season has seen the Lilywhites lose both of their Champions League matches, while a departure for Toby Alderweireld continues to look likely.

Spurs have been attributed with an interest in Bournemouth defender Nathan Ake, along with Manchester United, but The Telegraph says both sides will be forced to wait as Chelsea hold the key to the future of the Netherlands international.

As part of his £20m switch last summer, Chelsea have a gentleman's agreement with Bournemouth that allows them to re-sign Ake for a fee of around £40m - and that gives the Blues the advantage, should Maurizio Sarri choose to utilise it.

How does this affect Spurs?

The developments provide two key implications for Tottenham and their pursuit of Ake, as it is clear they will not have any chance of leading the hunt for the defender if Chelsea decide they want to bring Ake back to Stamford Bridge.

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Secondly, the mentioned fee of £40m is likely to be the sort of price that Spurs will have to pay to land the Dutchman's services and tempt Bournemouth into a sale, which is only a little lower than the £42m club-record fee that brought Davinson Sanchez to north London.

With the financial implications of their imminent stadium move, Tottenham would likely have to sell Alderweireld to finance a deal for Ake and could still miss out on the defender's services.