Bournemouth Fan View: Cherries must hold on to Nathan Aké in January

People laughed at my club AFC Bournemouth when they signed Nathan Aké for a cool £20 million pounds in the summer. I can say without hesitation those people have no idea what they’re talking about.

He has been by far our most consistent performer this season, not putting in a single poor performance. Not one.

This was epitomised against Everton on Saturday. With minutes remaining, he put in a superb sliding tackle on Gylfi Sigurðsson to deny the Icelandic international a chance to shoot on goal. The distance he had to sprint to make the challenge was significant.

Bournemouth v Everton – how the match unfolded

READ MORE: Late Fraser second ends hosts’ eight-match winless run

READ MORE: Allardyce let down by ‘sloppy’ Everton

Then, just minutes later, we scored a winner. Everyone knows that games in the Premier League can be decided by fine margins. Aké has been a huge factor this season in making sure we’ve landed on the right side of those margins.

Nathan Aké is number one

If Virgil Van Dyke is worth £75m, then I do wonder how much Aké will be worth when he reaches the same age.

Although he lacks Van Dijk’s height, he exudes a similar quiet confidence. On and off the pitch he comes across as very calm character.

It’s therefore bemusing that he’s barely getting any attention for his consistently excellent showings. I think our poor form this season is a factor but, even so, it’s slightly befuddling. But I’m certainly not complaining.

READ MORE: Bournemouth hand Allardyce first Everton defeat

AS IT HAPPENED: AFC Bournemouth vs Everton

Togetherness is key

So it goes without saying that we should do everything to hold onto Nathan Aké through the January transfer window. Fortunately, I think our league position will throw off any potential suitors.

We must also hold on to our entire squad over the next few weeks and strengthen it if at all possible. Although we put in a committed display and deserved to win against Everton, we did lack options off the bench.

When the game was floating towards a frustrating 1-1 draw against a bizarrely over-defensive opponent, we needed to spark some change, but struggled to do so. Instead, it was up to a largely knackered Ryan Fraser – who put in another towering display – to grab us the three points we deserved.

Faith in Howe

It’s also wonderful to see the club’s complete faith in Eddie Howe be repaid somewhat. The scenes when we scored the winner on Saturday almost brought a tear to my eye.

Seeing Sam Allardyce bleat about not having the players he needs post-match – whereas Howe has barely mentioned our current injury crisis in recent weeks – shows how lucky we are to have to have such a positive man in charge, too. Even if I do wish he’d stop playing Simon Francis.

Now we just need to build on this result and climb further away from trouble. Starting with our upcoming trip to Brighton. If we maintain the togetherness we’ve shown in our last two games, I have no doubt we’ll do so too.