🚨 EXCL: Chelsea prepare £70m bid to beat Arsenal to Premier League star
Chelsea will try again...
Chelsea are understood to be preparing an improved bid of around £70m for the transfer of Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott.
As first reported for CaughtOffside, well-connected sources have informed us that Scott remains a top target for Chelsea this summer.
The Blues notably saw a £64m bid for Scott rejected by Bournemouth, who still insist they don’t want to sell the 22-year-old.
However, we’ve been told that Chelsea will try again for Scott and hope to start negotiations at around £70m. There is still a gap to be bridged, however, with Bournemouth’s valuation of £80m.
Chelsea’s imminent move for Jordan Henderson won’t affect the club’s desire to bring in another younger player in that area of their squad.
Alex Scott is top Chelsea target but other clubs are lurking...
For now, it looks like Chelsea are the favourites for Scott if Bournemouth can be persuaded to sell.
The Englishman also has interest from the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool, and Tottenham, while Arsenal also made an enquiry earlier this summer.
“Chelsea have done the most work on Alex Scott so far,” one source said. “They’re prepared to try again for around £70m, but that’s also probably going to be rejected by Bournemouth.
“Let’s see, but other clubs could still come into the conversation. Andoni Iraola knows the player well and is a big fan, so I wouldn’t rule out Liverpool.”
For now, it seems that Arsenal are focusing on Bruno Guimaraes over Scott for their midfield rebuild, while numerous sources also suggest that United have cooled their interest in Scott in favour of looking elsewhere.
Could Eli Junior Kroupi injury impact Alex Scott?
The injury to Eli Junior Kroupi means that’s one big sale Bournemouth surely won’t be making this summer.
Some sources have speculated that this could mean the Cherries are under some pressure to sell Scott instead, but others deny that the club need to make sales at all.
Bournemouth are in a strong financial position after qualifying for Europe, and there’ll surely be little appetite for further sales after the departure of Antoine Semenyo in January, as well as the likes of Dean Huijsen and Milos Kerkez last summer.