Bournemouth has turned down a £64 million offer from Chelsea for midfielder Alex Scott. The Cherries have made it clear to Chelsea that any further attempts to acquire Scott will not be considered, as they aim to retain one of their key players.
The situation is complicated for Bournemouth, as the England Under-21 international has declined a new contract that has been available for over two months. Clubs such as Arsenal, Manchester United, Tottenham, and Manchester City have also shown interest in Scott earlier this transfer window.
According to BBC Sport in June, Arsenal’s approach for Scott was also rejected by Bournemouth. The 22-year-old, who moved to Bournemouth from Bristol City in 2023 for £25 million, has two years remaining on his current contract.
Bournemouth has publicly stated, both to Scott and interested clubs, that he will stay on the south coast, even under his existing contract. The club is not under pressure to sell, having qualified for the Europa League and benefitting from significant income generated by last summer’s departures of players like Dean Huijsen, Milos Kerkez, Illia Zabarnyi, and Dango Outtara.
Bournemouth is also taking a firm stance regarding talented forward Junior Kroupi, who is attracting interest from Arsenal and Tottenham. Similarly, Brazilian international Rayan, who joined the club in January, is expected to remain and has shown no desire to leave.
Scott and Kroupi are currently participating in new manager Marco Rose’s pre-season training camp in Austria, while Rayan will join later, having recently competed for Brazil in the World Cup.
Scott was selected for his first England squad last November and participated in Thomas Tuchel’s extended pre-World Cup training camp in Florida, though he has yet to make his senior international debut.
In what has been a busy summer transfer window for Premier League midfielders, Morgan Rogers has completed a £117 million move from Aston Villa to Chelsea, while Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson is set to join Manchester City for £116 million. Meanwhile, Tottenham has splashed out £100 million on Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali and another £85 million on West Ham’s Mateus Fernandes.
Scott originally joined Bristol City from Guernsey FC in 2020, amassing 91 appearances for the Championship side before being named the division’s young player of the season in 2022-23 and moving to Bournemouth, where he has made 89 appearances and scored six goals.