Bournemouth have rejected a £64m bid from Chelsea for midfielder Alex Scott, but the club face a difficult battle to keep hold of the England Under-21 international after he turned down a new contract that has been on the table for at least two months.
The 22-year-old, who joined the south coast club from Bristol City in 2023 for £25m, has two years left on his current deal. Bournemouth made it clear to Chelsea that any further approaches would not be welcomed and that they intend to keep their star player, even on his existing terms.
“Bournemouth reject Chelsea's £64m bid for Alex Scott after the midfielder turns down a new contract.”
Scott’s rejection of a contract extension has fuelled interest from a host of Premier League rivals. Arsenal, Manchester United, Tottenham and Manchester City all expressed an interest earlier in the window, with BBC Sport reporting in June that Arsenal had an approach turned down by Bournemouth.
The Cherries are under no pressure to sell after qualifying for the Europa League and generating significant income through the sales of Dean Huijsen, Milos Kerkez, Illia Zabarnyi and Dango Outtara last summer. They have taken a similar stance with forward Junior Kroupi, who is attracting interest from Arsenal and Tottenham, while Brazil international Rayan is also expected to stay after only joining in January.
Scott, who joined Bristol City from Guernsey FC in 2020 and made 91 appearances for the Championship side, was named the division’s young player of the season in 2022-23. He has since made 89 appearances for Bournemouth, scoring six goals. He was selected in his first England squad last November and was called into Thomas Tuchel’s extended pre-World Cup training camp in Florida, but is yet to make a senior international appearance.
Both Scott and Kroupi are with the squad for new manager Marco Rose’s pre-season training camp in Austria, with Rayan due back later after featuring for Brazil at the World Cup.
The rejected bid comes in a busy Premier League midfielder market: Morgan Rogers has completed a £117m move from Aston Villa to Chelsea, while Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson is set to join Manchester City for £116m. Tottenham have spent £100m on Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali and £85m on West Ham’s Mateus Fernandes.