Recent Chelsea bid for Alex Scott was rejected by AFC Bournemouth — reports

AFC Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott has only two years left on his contract, and as such, he’s been subject to a fair bit of speculation this summer about his future. A new contract doesn’t seem to be in the offing (he has rejected at least one offer, per The Athletic), and the Cherries thus would risk a lower transfer fee (or even a free transfer) if they were to keep holding on to him without that new deal.

Clubs reportedly monitoring the situation include the likes of Arsenal, Manchester City, and Manchester United and, obviously, Chelsea, too, though it sounds like we have actually tried to go a step further than the rest, by testing the waters with an actual bid. It’s unclear how much that bid might have been (or when exactly it was made), but Ben Jacobs reports that we’re “willing to pay over £60m”. (UPDATE: it was £64m.)

Either way, the bid wasn’t enough as Bournemouth have rejected it. They insist on Scott staying regardless of his contract situation.

To me, it looks like we tried to do something opportunistic here, but the price wasn’t right. And that’s probably okay. I don’t think we need reinforcing in central midfield, especially if Enzo Fernández were to stay (which, at the moment, he seems to be trending towards).