John Terry is set to be overlooked for Chelsea’s FA Cup clash with Tottenham
England centre-back Gary Cahill is ruled out of the semi-final, however, it seems while it’s still unclear if John Terry will play, it looks as though he wont be replacing Cahill as Conte looks for another option in 22-year-old Nathan Ake.
Conte said: “Nathan deserves to have this chance. He has shown great commitment. He has worked very hard. His behaviour has been fantastic.
“Ake played every game with Bournemouth, but he wanted to come back to us work together and help us fight for the title. He’s a good player, ready to have this opportunity, he deserves this and I trust him. I have no problem with this decision.
However, Conte still made it clear that Terry is still an option for his set-up when needed, but the position is currently filled by David Luiz:
“In this system the right position for John is in the middle of the three central defenders, which is where David Luiz plays.”
“If something happens to David Luiz, for sure the player with the right characteristics to play in this position is John.”
“(But) in this case I think for this position Ake has the right characteristic to be the substitute for Gary.”
