Bournemouth owner Bill Foley has admitted that Alex Scott could be tempted by Manchester City or Chelsea, even as the Cherries keep pushing their 23-year-old midfielder to sign a new contract.
Scott is under contract at the Vitality Stadium until June 2028, but he is understood to have turned down the club’s opening offers of an extension. With the January window getting closer, that has left Bournemouth in an awkward spot.
Foley didn’t dodge it either. Speaking on talkSPORT, the 81-year-old named Man City as one of the two clubs he thinks could turn his player’s head.
It is the clearest sign yet that Bournemouth know they may have a fight on their hands to keep him.
What did Bill Foley say about Alex Scott?
Foley insisted the club are convinced they are the right place for Scott to stay, and said they will keep working on the contract as the season goes on.
He said: “We’d love to have Alex stay here and sign a new contract and be part of this team for the long haul. We haven’t given up, but sometimes players get stars in their eyes, and they think that Chelsea or Manchester City is the right place to go.”
He added: “We have to respect the fact that a lot of our players are younger, and they’ve come to Bournemouth with the expectation that they’ll get time to play and perhaps move on to a bigger team.”
Foley also wants six-figure wages for Bournemouth’s key players to become “commonplace”, and believes more investment in infrastructure and a common thread of leadership will help them keep hold of more of them. “People will be surprised about that, and they’ll be able to earn substantial wages here,” he said.
Alex Scott’s price, and who else wants him
Scott joined Bournemouth from Bristol City for around £25m in August 2023. He has made 95 appearances in all competitions since, and he was a key part of the side that finished sixth in the Premier League last season to qualify for the Europa League.
The Guernsey-born midfielder won his first two senior England caps during the September and October international break. The timing since has been rotten, though: a hamstring injury has kept him out of Bournemouth’s last seven games.
According to the Evening Standard, Chelsea had a £64m bid turned down by Marco Rose’s Bournemouth in the summer, and approaches from other English clubs were knocked back too. Xabi Alonso’s side, who failed to replace Enzo Fernandez in the summer, are said to have kept a firm interest, while Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United have also been linked.
The Cherries are reportedly open to selling him midway through the season if an offer worth around £100m arrives. They are also said to have lined up two possible replacements in case he decides to go.
Would Man City really go to £100m?
Midfield is certainly a live topic at the Etihad. Maresca’s expensive trio lasted 55 minutes in the defeat to Brighton, and the debate over who plays where in the middle hasn’t gone away since.
There is a familiar rival in this one as well. City and Chelsea are already set for a €50m bidding war over Club Brugge striker Nicolo Tresoldi, and Foley naming the same two clubs here tells you who Bournemouth expect to come calling.
But City are one name on a list here, alongside Liverpool and Manchester United. Chelsea are the only club with a reported bid figure, and nothing suggests City have gone beyond being linked.
Verdict: Bournemouth hold the cards on Alex Scott
£100m is roughly four times what Bournemouth paid Bristol City, for a player who is currently injured and has two England caps. That figure is a message as much as a price, and with Scott tied down until 2028, Bournemouth don’t have to sell in January.
What Foley’s words do show is that he knows the pull is real, and that City are one of the clubs he fears. If Scott keeps saying no to a new deal, the summer looks a far more likely moment for a move than the winter. For now, I’d file this under one to watch rather than one to get excited about.
