Alex Scott has rejected a new contract at Bournemouth, putting Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester City on red alert – but the Cherries insist their midfielder is not for sale.
The 22-year-old England Under-21 international, who joined from Bristol City in 2023 for £25m, has two years left on his current deal. Bournemouth made tying him down a summer priority, but negotiations that began towards the end of last season have failed. The club have rejected approaches, including one from Arsenal in June, according to BBC Sport.
“Alex Scott rejects new Bournemouth deal as Arsenal, Chelsea, Man Utd circle; club insist not for sale.”
Scott helped Bournemouth finish sixth under Andoni Iraola last season, qualifying for the Europa League for the first time in their history. The club have taken a similarly firm stance with forward Junior Kroupi, who is attracting interest from Arsenal and Tottenham, and Brazilian winger Rayan, who is not expected to leave.
The news comes in a transfer window that has already produced three £100m-plus Premier League signings – a first. Chelsea agreed a club-record £117m for Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers, Manchester City paid Nottingham Forest £116m for Elliot Anderson, and Tottenham spent £100m on Newcastle's Sandro Tonali, plus £85m on West Ham's Mateus Fernandes. Barcelona also paid £69m for Anthony Gordon.
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire said record fees set new benchmarks: "It allows the club to say, 'This is the record English signing'. So there's an element of bragging rights involved." After City's £116m move for Anderson, Villa demanded – and got – more for Rogers.
Bournemouth are under no financial pressure to sell after generating significant income from the sales of Dean Huijsen, Milos Kerkez, Illia Zabarnyi and Dango Outtara last summer, and earning a Europa League spot. They have publicly insisted Scott will remain on the south coast even on his current contract.
Scott, who has made 89 appearances and scored six goals for Bournemouth, was selected in his first England squad last November and called into Thomas Tuchel's pre-World Cup training camp. He is with the squad for new manager Marco Rose's pre-season training camp in Austria. The transfer window closes on 1 September.