Chelsea will likely face their toughest test of the summer so far when they play against Tottenham Hotspur in a pre-season friendly on Saturday morning.
The Blues were impressive in attack but looked shaky defensively as they beat Western Sydney Wanderers 6-4 in their opening friendly of the summer, and manager Xabi Alonso will want to see vast improvement when his side meet Spurs in Australia.
Ahead of that game, it has emerged that Chelsea are preparing an improved offer for one of the most talented English midfielders in the top flight.
As reported by CaughtOffside, the Blues are readying an offer of £70 million for Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott.
It is claimed that the west London outfit have already had a bid of £64 million for Scott rejected by the Cherries, who are extremely reluctant to lose such an important player.
Scott joined Bournemouth from Bristol City back in 2023, having impressed hugely for the Championship side.
Scott is a target for Chelsea (Photo: Alamy)
Since moving to the south coast, the midfielder has scored six goals and provided five assists in 89 games for Bournemouth in all competitions, earning a reputation as one of the best young English midfielders in the Premier League.
The 22-year-old’s impressive displays have attracted significant interest from Chelsea, and the Blues are said to be preparing an improved offer of £70 million for the player.
That figure still falls short of Bournemouth’s £80 million valuation of the midfielder, though, making it unlikely that it will be accepted.
Scott has just under two years remaining on his current contract with the Cherries, which suggests that this summer could be one of the club’s last opportunities to cash in on the player for a significant amount.
Having represented England at various age group levels, Scott was included in England’s pre-World Cup training squad under Thomas Tuchel ahead of this summer’s tournament, but is yet to make his senior debut for the Three Lions.
