Chelsea 'move on to another target' after Alex Scott update from Bournemouth

Bournemouth will have to completely rethink how they handle the future of midfielder Alex Scott after his latest injury issue.

That is according to former Everton chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, who believes that the Cherries were looking to cash in on the Chelsea target in January.

Scott was hugely impressive for England during the international break, but picked up a quadricep injury that could potentially rule him out of action for up to three months.

However, Wyness is adamant that the risk in the situation is all with Bournemouth, as he expects Chelsea to just move on to a different target this winter.

Scott is out of contract with the South Coast outfit in the summer of 2028, and they are running out of time to further secure his long-term future.

Bournemouth rejected a bid of around £60million from Chelsea for their star man in the summer, but the injury has now provided an unwelcome twist.

Bournemouth face Alex Scott uncertainty

Everton’s former chief Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes that Bournemouth now have to go back to the drawing board in terms of their plans to sell Scott.

The Scottish businessman believes that the youngster's long-term future now largely depends on how well he recovers from the injury setback.

Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider's Inside Track podcast, Wyness explained how it is Bournemouth who are the biggest losers in the situation.

"It's such a shame. He played so well for England and then for this to happen, I feel very sad for the boy. But I'm afraid that's the reality," he said.

"Bournemouth are the ones who have got the biggest risk in this right now. Chelsea can move on to another target. But Bournemouth, this was one of their big assets, and they may have been planning to have cashed in in January.

"They may have wanted to keep the squad fresh and keep moving because they know they're going to lose him at some stage. Now it looks as though it will be next summer, but at what price? It will all depend on his recovery."

Bournemouth may lose Scott at '£20m' reduction

Wyness previously told Football Insider that Chelsea may be able to snatch Scott away with a £20m reduction on what his fee would have been next summer.

The boardroom man is adamant that the 23-year-old must make a swift return to form when he is back in the fold, or his pricetag will steadily drop.

Wyness outlined that there will likely be a "variance" of up to £20m in Scott's eventual transfer fee, which will be almost entirely dependent on how he performs in the second half of the season.

Bournemouth had been holding out for £80m for their star man last summer, but that could be merely a pipedream for them moving forward.