At one stage, it looked like Chelsea would have to wait until next summer to have any chance of signing Alex Scott from Bournemouth.

Since Chelsea first registered their interest in Scott, Bournemouth’s stance has been the midfielder is not for sale. They did not want to sell him in the previous transfer window, and they were expected to take the same position in January.

Journalist Simon Phillips has revealed on Si Phillips Talks Chelsea that the club are actively working on a deal to sign Scott and it could be completed before the January transfer window even opens. Scott is thought to be keen on joining Chelsea, with personal terms not expected to be an issue.

According to Phillips, they have already been broadly agreed and the player will fit into the wage structure at Stamford Bridge. The journalist has also claimed that Scott will have a Champions League qualification bonus for this season if he joins Chelsea.

Bournemouth owner Bill Foley has not given up hope on getting Scott to sign a new contract, but he has admitted that once the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City come knocking, often there is not much you can do.

As Foley discussed Scott’s situation, he said: “I don’t want to sell anyone at any time. I have to defer to Tiago [Pinto], my president of football, and he comes to me with his ideas and plans.

“At this point, we’re convinced we’re the right place for Alex to be. We’ll keep on addressing contract issues with Alex as we move through this year. We’d love to have Alex stay here and sign a new contract and be part of this team long haul, and we’re still working on it.

“We haven’t given up, but sometimes players get stars in their eyes, and they think that Chelsea is the right place to go, or Man City. I hated to lose [Antoine] Semenyo. What a great guy he was.”

There will be little chance of Scott having any potential Champions League qualification bonus activated if he joins Chelsea and they continue playing the way they did against Tottenham Hotspur. Xabi Alonso’s side had a night to forget as they fell to a 2-0 defeat to their fierce rivals after being absolutely dominated at Stamford Bridge.