Aston Villa have been urged to gatecrash Liverpool’s pursuit of Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott, with former England striker Stan Collymore telling TEAMtalk that Unai Emery’s side should break their transfer record to get the deal done this summer.
Scott has so far held off signing a new contract at the Vitality Stadium, and that, combined with his form last season, has put him on the radar of several bigger clubs, including Liverpool and Manchester United. Bournemouth know what they have, though. With two years left on his current deal, they’re in no rush to sell cheap, and any club looking to take him away from the south coast will need to find north of £80m.
On paper, Liverpool make plenty of sense. Scott worked under Andoni Iraola at Bournemouth before the Spanish coach moved to Anfield, and reuniting the pair would give Iraola another player suited to his pressing, high-tempo system. But Collymore isn’t convinced FSG will actually back that move.
“Whether he’d be on Liverpool’s radar, I’m not convinced. They’ve got lots of forwards and attacking-minded midfielders already,” Collymore said.
That hesitation from Liverpool’s ownership is exactly the gap Collymore thinks Villa should exploit, joking that he’d personally drive to Bournemouth to collect Scott on Emery’s behalf if it meant getting the deal done.
Collymore’s case for Scott centers on his movement in tight spaces, something he says few players in the league do as well, along with the midfielder’s trajectory heading into a Nations League autumn and a Euros campaign two years from now. For a Villa side returning to the Champions League, adding a player of that profile would be a real statement of intent.
There’s also a knock-on question if Scott does end up at Anfield instead: would it push Alexis Mac Allister or Ryan Gravenberch out the door? Collymore says no, both deserve to stay regardless of how Liverpool’s midfield business shakes out. That said, Fabrizio Romano reported this week that Liverpool have already made calls over a surprise midfield signing, with Mac Allister’s future understood to be one of the situations under closest scrutiny.
For now, Scott’s situation is one of the more interesting subplots of the summer. Villa have the Champions League football to sell him on, and according to Collymore, the financial conviction Liverpool’s ownership currently lacks. Whether Emery’s club can put together a package to match Bournemouth’s valuation is another matter, but the door looks open.
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