Chelsea defender Nathan Ake is determined to show manager Antonio Conte he is ready to play a regular role at the club.
Ake was shipped out on a season-long loan to Bournemouth at the beginning of the season, but Conte summoned the 21-year-old back from the Vitality Stadium prematurely earlier in January.
Ake is accustomed to a central defensive role, but was fielded at left wing-back in his first game back at the club since returning from the south coast.
Conte had warned the star he could be trialled in a number of positions and Ake looked composed at the back and threatening going forward in the 4-0 FA Cup win over Brentford on Saturday.
"It's a hard position, of course, but I enjoyed it," he said. "A lot of up and down, so you need a lot of energy. I was kind of tired at the end. It was my first time.
"You have to get forward a lot and if the ball is on the other side you are basically a winger.
"On the first day I was back, [Antonio Conte] called me into his office and explained the different positions he sees me in and what he expects from me when I play those positions.
In Pictures | Chelsea vs Brentford | 28/01/2017
"For him, age doesn't matter. I just have to show him I'm ready to be here and that's what I try to do in training. It was positive that he called me back and it gave me a lot of confidence."
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