Alex Scott Turns Down New Contract At AFCB. Good News or Bad News?

Alex Scott has now rejected 2 contract offers by AFC Bournemouth despite Cherries qualifying for Europe last season. Reports have suggested that the 22 year old would be happy to stay at the club for the upcoming season, however with over a month still left in the transfer window and many top clubs needing a central midfielder, things can change quickly.

AFCB have already turned down numerous offers for Scott this window, with their stance being made very clear of 'we are not going to sell' regardless of the price that is offered. 

Positive news is that a third proposal is still very much a possibility, with Cherries hoping that what they put on the table will be enough for Scott to put pen to paper.

There are many ways in which Bournemouth fans can view this one, with the more optimistic viewpoint being that if his current contract doesn't have a release clause, the club then have the power to turn down bids that would be seen as enough to buy Scott on face value.

However, the more pessimistic and somewhat realistic point of view is that Scott only has 2 years left on his contract, with his current deal at the club expiring in 2028. As Cherries have lost key players like Marcos Senesi and Jefferson Lerma in recent years on free transfers, losing such a talent for a free doesn't seem plausible. 

This does however, mean that unless Scott signs an extension in the next 6-12 months, he will be likely to leave the club next summer. As seen with players like Jean Paul Van-Hecke and Yoane Wissa, the maximum a club tends to pay for a player with 12 months left on their deal is around £45-50 million, which is already far below what Scott is valued at, let alone if he has another impressive year this season. 

As seen with players like Dominic Solanke, it looks like it is much harder to be able to get into the England squad for International games if you play for a club the size of AFCB. This was mad even more clear when Solanke signed for Spurs, had an average start to the season and then found himself in the very next England squad. 

With EURO 2028 now less than 2 years away, Scott will want to give himself the best platform possible to be selected for that squad, especially if Thomas Tuchel is in charge in 2 years time, as Tuchel stated that Scott was next in line for selection if a midfielder picked up an injury in the 2026 World Cup.

Most Cherries supporters will be used to young talents using the club as a stepping stone to then move onto bigger and better things, but that hasn't always worked out well for them. Dean Huijsen, Illia Zabarnyi & Milos Kerkez have all struggled to settle in at their new clubs since leaving Bournemouth in the last year, which may encourage Scott to stay for another year, get a season of European experience under his belt, and then move onto one of England's biggest clubs like he deserves.