Round-up: Conte defends decision, Pirlo rumours, QPR boss unhappy, agents fees, Judge surgery

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has defended his decision to recall Nathan Ake from his loan at Bournemouth, insisting he was right to do so despite the Dutchman’s lack of game time.

Ake has not made a Premier League appearance since his return to west London in January.

Conte has also dismissed reports Italy star Andrea Pirlo is in line to replace Steve Holland as his assistant this summer.

Victor Moses has been passed fit to return to the squad for Chelsea’s game at Bournemouth on Saturday.

Chelsea’s development side were in action on Friday evening, beating Sunderland 3-0 at Stamford Bridge, where Ike Ugbo scored twice.

Meanwhile, Ian Holloway bemoaned QPR’s slack defending in the build up to the all-important first goal in their home defeat against Brighton.

The visitors returned to the top of the Championship with a 2-1 win at Loftus Road, where Glenn Murray opened the scoring following Nedum Onuoha’s costly mistake.

Onuoha gave the ball away but Holloway insisted his team should still have prevented veteran striker Murray from running through on goal and firing past keeper Alex Smithies.

QPR paid almost £2.4m to agents between February 2016 and the end of January this year, latest figures show – the fifth-largest sum in the Championship.

And Brentford’s Alan Judge will have more surgery to help him fully recover from the double broken leg he suffered last year.