“He is becoming a very, very complete player,” was Andoni Iraola’s assessment after Alex Scott scored to seal a 2-1 Premier League away win against Arsenal in April.After two seasons curtailed by knee injuries, Scott found his best form in 2025-26, featuring in all but one of Bournemouth’s 38 league games, having helped England retain the Under-21 European Championship last summer. He made England’s expanded senior squad for their pre-World Cup friendlies this June, too.The 22-year-old midfielder has gone from strength to strength since playing in the eighth tier of English football as recently as 2019. That has led to interest from Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal this summer, with The Athletic reporting this week that Chelsea have had an offer for him rejected.Scott is contracted to Bournemouth until 2028 and rejected their recent offer of a new deal, but the club expect him to stay with them past the end of the current transfer window on September 1.The Athletic explains why some of England’s top clubs are after him, and where he would fit best.Why are these teams interested in Scott?Competing in the Premier League as currently constructed requires teams to have intelligent midfielders with ceaseless engines and defensive awareness. It is why Arsenal and Manchester City have spent more than £100million on Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson respectively in recent years.Scott is four years Rice’s junior and a year younger than Anderson, but his experience playing in the setup partly responsible for altering the Premier League’s tactical landscape makes up for that. Iraola’s Bournemouth prioritised high-energy midfielders with ball-carrying prowess, physicality and the ability to force quick turnovers. Scott has all those qualities plus the versatility to play in a double pivot or central midfield or as a No 10, and has improved every season.A good example of how some of those attributes come together can be seen below, against Burnley in March.Scott is in an advanced position as Bournemouth search for a late winner, but when they lose the ball, he knows where the next pass is going even before Burnley complete their previous one. A sprint and a shoulder-barge later, he has possession back.Having done so, Scott carries towards goal, waits for the first defender to commit by taking two quick steps without touching the ball before sliding past him infield.He then does a stepover to draw another defender and then another with his right foot before pushing the ball with his left to get on the outside again.As a third Burnley player engages, Scott looks straight ahead but passes to David Brooks on his left to create a crossing chance with another four of their team-mates in the 18-yard box.Scott is patient but decisive as a player and that is highly valuable, especially against teams who man-mark.It also helped Bournemouth with moving between the thirds, like in the example below against Sunderland in February. Scott once again waits for a first and second defender to commit and beats them before opponent number three barges him in the back.Only Nottingham Forest’s Anderson and Bruno Guimaraes of Newcastle, another Arsenal target this summer, won more fouls than Scott’s 1.95 per 90 minutes among Premier League central and defensive midfielders last season.