Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso was dealt a blow earlier this week when it was revealed central midfielder Granit Xhaka would not be signed.
The Spaniard won the Bundesliga title with experienced stars in Bayer Leverkusen’s team and was hoping to bring him to London in the summer transfer window.
An offer of £8m from the Blues was rejected by the Black Cats who felt it was an insulting bid and a final decision is now being taken by the player.
The Swiss international turned down the chance to reunite with his former manager and decided to remain at the Stadium of Light to captain next season’s Europa League.
After captaining Sunderland to a seventh-place finish in his first year back in the Premier League, his loyalty to the club is admirable and understandable.
Chelsea expected to make move for Premier League midfielder
Chelsea may respect Xhaka’s decision to remain on Wearside, but the Swiss star’s refusal means they will have to look elsewhere for a new midfielder.
They have already been linked with interest in another star player from the Premier League, who would be an even better option for Alonso in the middle of the park.
According to talkSPORT, Chelsea are one of the teams interested in signing Bournemouth central midfielder Alex Scott in the summer transfer window.
According to the newspaper, Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United are also considering the possibility of signing the England international for next season.
However, he added that the Cherries do not want to sign the former Bristol City player and are instead hoping to put pen to paper on a contract extension.
TalkSPORT revealed that Chelsea are expected to increase their interest in the Englishman after Xhaka decided to remain at Sunderland, but it remains to be seen whether Bournemouth will be convinced to sell him.
Why Alex Scott is better than Granit Xhaka
Xhaka would have arrived as a player who already knows Alonso’s ways and could have really stepped up as a key player for the Spaniard.
But the Scot, who is valued at £80 million, is already a proven star in the Premier League and also has the potential to make an immediate impact, having come from another division and not having to adapt to a country or league.
Indeed, the 22-year-old star’s performances for Bournemouth in the Premier League in 2025/26 suggest he is a better option than Xhaka in Chelsea’s midfield.
25/26 Premier League | Xhaka | Scott |
|---|---|---|
Appearance | 34 | 37 |
the goal | 1 | 3 |
Shah | 3.71 | 2.95 |
Tackles + Interceptions per game | 2.4 | 2.6 |
Duels won per match | 4.5 | 5.0 |
Number of successful dribbles per game | 0.3 | 0.8 |
Possessions lost per game | 12.6 | 10.4 |
The Englishman offered his team more in most aspects of the game than Xhaka did against Sunderland, apart from creativity, leading to more defensive interventions and goals from midfield.
The fact that he averages 0.5 more dribbles per game speaks to the excellent mobility Scott boasts in his midfield position. This is because he is far more capable of crossing the ground than the Swiss international, with or without the ball at his feet.
Despite only being 22, Scott has already been described as a “complete” midfielder by Under-23 scout Antonio Mango, backed up by his contributions on and off the ball in last season’s Premier League.
The problem with signing young players is that their performance levels can sometimes be inconsistent and fluctuate, which is why Chelsea wanted an experienced star like Xhaka, but Scott bucks that trend.
His former manager Andoni Iraola talked about his impressive consistency at the end of last season, and that is backed up by how great his statistics are compared to Xhaka.
The 22-year-old Scot is 11 years younger than the Sunderland star and would bring long-term value to Chelsea and Alonso. If he wishes, he could be used as a starting midfielder for the next 10 years.
That’s why the Blues must do everything in their power to secure Xhaka ahead of their rivals now that they know he will remain at Sunderland this summer. Because he can make Alonso forget all about the former star.
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