Gus Poyet has weighed in on the interest being shown in Bournemouth’s Alex Scott from Chelsea and the Premier League’s other top clubs.

After being determined to keep hold of him until at least the end of the season, Bournemouth are now open to selling Scott in January. That is great news for Chelsea, who have been chasing the midfielder since the summer.

Xabi Alonso is in need of another midfielder following Enzo Fernandez’s deadline day move to Manchester City. The Blues failed to sign a replacement for the Argentine after missing out on Scott and AS Monaco’s Lamine Camara.

Gus Poyet claims Alex Scott would be good in any team

It was mentioned to Poyet that all of the Premier League’s big six have been linked with Scott and how that is a rarity. In response, the former Chelsea midfielder agreed and hailed Scott as a top player.

Speaking to The Standard, Poyet said: “Yeah, true. He is a good player; top. I think he would be good in any team. But it will depend on the players, on how many you have available in every position.

“From what I read, Xabi Alonso does not want a big squad, so you don’t want to add just to have another body. It will depend on the quantity.”

Scott has not had the chance to show that he is a good player of late because of an injury, which he picked up on international duty. However, his injury is not thought to be as bad as first feared.

In total, Scott has made five appearances in the Premier League this season and scored one goal. As his contract continues to run down, Bournemouth owner Bill Foley has all but confirmed that Scott wants to leave the Vitality Stadium.

Alex Scott is unlikely to replace Enzo Fernandez’s passing

Scott joining Chelsea now looks likely, but the question is, can the 23-year-old successfully replace World Cup winner Fernandez? In terms of profile, they are not like-for-like, which already makes things difficult for Scott.

Scott will be dubbed as Fernandez’s replacement and expected to join the £100m midfielder club alongside the Argentina international. But he is not going to pass the ball as well as the former Chelsea man or create as many opportunities. His numbers point towards that being the case.

For instance, Scott made 37.21 passes and had a successful pass rate of 84.9% per 90 minutes in the Premier League last season, according to FotMob. Scott outperformed just 34.6% of midfielders for successful passes, which will not suffice at Chelsea.

As for Fernandez, he completed 50.61 passes and had a successful pass rate of 86% per 90. Fernandez also played more successful long balls, 2.74 to Scott’s 1.67. His long ball accuracy was 60.1%, while Scott’s was only 41.1%.

Ultimately, Fernandez is a better passer. He also made more line-breaking passes (13.03) than Scott (8.03). When it comes to chances created, Fernandez comes out on top again.

The ex-Benfica star created 1.96 chances per 90, while Scott only created 0.85. Of course, Fernandez did play a lot of games as a No.10, giving him more opportunities to slip in a teammate. Whatever the case, on the ball, there is clearly room for improvement for Scott.