Ryan Fraser admits Bournemouth are 'lucky' to have Nathan Ake and believes the in-demand defender would be a Chelsea regular by now if they had not let him go.

The 23-year-old's excellent season has drawn interest from Tottenham and Manchester United, while Chelsea are understood to have a buy-back clause of around £40m if they choose to re-sign a player they let go for a relative bargain at £20m in 2017.

Ake made only seven league appearances in six years at Chelsea but has since emerged as one of the most impressive centre-halves in the Premier League.

Ryan Fraser admits Bournemouth are 'lucky' to have defender Nathan Ake in their side

Fraser believes Ake is Bournemouth's 'best player' and good enough for any team in England

Bournemouth winger Fraser said: 'He's our best player. It's as simple as that. I don't think I've ever seen him have a bad game. He has shown himself to be a top, top player.

'So yes, I don't know whether he will go or what will happen but he is with us right now and he is one of the best defenders I've seen.

'(Big clubs) should be looking. He's obviously had a couple of seasons now with us to get his form and confidence and games under his belt. But I'm sure that if he was at Chelsea he would be playing by now. We are lucky to have him.

Chelsea are believed to have inserted a £40m buy-back clause when they sold Ake

'He makes everyone around him play better. He's got everything on the ball, off the ball, defensively. He's not the biggest for a centre-half but he wins every header. So we will see.

'Without him I don't think we'd be as good. So like I said, we are glad to have him.'

Bournemouth are unlikely to allow a January move, but there is expected to be serious interest in Ake in the summer.