Chelsea are in 'pole position' to sign England midfielder Alex Scott from Bournemouth, according to reports. The Blues expressed interest in signing Scott, 23, last summer and even made an initial bid worth £64m plus add-ons. Bournemouth rejected Chelsea's approach, however, and told potential suitors that Scott would not be leaving in the summer.
However, it was reported earlier this week that Bournemouth had performed a U-turn and were now 'open' to selling Scott in January 'under certain conditions'. Bournemouth will demand £100m to sell Scott, who impressed for England during the recent international break before suffering an injury setback, and only sanction his exit if they pull away from the relegation zone.
Scott's situation at Bournemouth
The Cherries have endured a difficult start to the season, failing to win any of their first six games under new boss Marco Rose. Bournemouth are missing Scott, who was brilliant last season and narrowly missed out on a place in Thomas Tuchel's England squad for the World Cup.
Scott is believed to be 'pushing to leave' the Vitality Stadium having rejected two contract offers at the end of last season. The midfielder has attracted interest from Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal over the past 12 months.
Chelsea's midfield need
But Chelsea are in 'pole position' to sign Scott, according to the Daily Mirror, and expect to bring the highly-rated star to Stamford Bridge in January. Xabi Alonso was keen to sign a new midfielder at the end of the summer transfer window after Chelsea sold Enzo Fernandez to Manchester City.
But deadline-day deals for Lamine Camara, Manu Kone and James Garner failed to materialise, leaving Alonso a little short in the midfield areas. Chelsea's main competition for Scott will likely come from Liverpool given Manchester United and Manchester City successfully bolstered their midfield options over the summer.
United spent over £150m on three midfielders – Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans and Carlos Baleba – while City signed Elliot Anderson and Ayyoub Bouaddi on top of Fernandez.
Tuchel's praise
Following his full England debut, Three Lions boss Tuchel described Scott as the 'complete package'. 'First start and what a start, what a performance,' Tuchel said. 'He is so smooth on the ball, his decision making is at the highest level.
'He plays with so much confidence. He is so active, so confident. The work rate off the ball. He is just the complete package. 'He gave us a lot of mobility and a lot of variety and work rate in the centre of the pitch.'
Chelsea are sixth in the Premier League ahead of Saturday's trip to Everton, who are yet to taste defeat so far this season.
