Chelsea could tie up £90m deal for Alex Scott with Bournemouth before January

Chelsea could tie up £90m deal for Alex Scott with Bournemouth before January Chelsea could wrap up a deal for Alex Scott before the January transfer window, the Daily Mail reports. The Blues want to strengthen Xabi Alonso’s midfield and have turned to the England international. They pursued him all summer and haven’t given up. Rivals believe Chelsea are ahead of everyone in the race, and the West London side could agree a deal of around £90m with Bournemouth despite the Cherries angling for over £100m. Scott caught the eye in the Premier League last term with his industry and guile in the middle of the park, playing a key role to help his side qualify for the Europa League. He also enjoyed a brilliant start to the season before an injury halted his progress and sidelined him for two months. Chelsea remain undeterred. Despite having Romeo Lavia, Jordan Henderson, Moises Caicedo, Valentin Barco, and Reece James in the ranks, they are still insistent on making a January signing. However, it’d be unwise to pursue a player who may still be recovering from a two-month lay-off. Even if he is fit, he’ll likely need time to get up to speed. Spending £90m on a player with a sketchy injury history while he is just coming off one isn’t the path they should be taking when they need to be smarter with their money. Chelsea will be better served spending that money on AS Monaco’s Lamine Camara, who will cost less and has a much healthier fitness record (and is the better player). If the stars align for the Blues, they could also finally add Xabi Alonso’s midfield general, Granit Xhaka, next summer, if Sunderland go down (they sit bottom of the Premier League table ). There is genuinely no reason to chuck £90m at Scott. They must also keep in mind that they have one of the most porous defences in the Premier League and might need to spend big to address it.