With the January transfer window still some way away, there are already a host of rumours concerning Chelsea and what they might do to improve their squad midway through the season

Bournemouth owner Bill Foley has vowed that the Cherries are still trying to persuade Chelsea target Alex Scott to stay at the Vitality Stadium.

The Blues are seriously interested in the 23-year-old midfielder and are expected to make a move in the January transfer window. Chelsea tried to sign Scott for £64million in the summer but Bournemouth swiftly rebuffed the approach and told the Blues that the England international was not for sale.

Sources close to the situation now say that Bournemouth's stance has softened slightly. football.london understands that the Cherries would consider selling Scott in January if they were to receive an offer in the region of £100m. It is also dependant on Bournemouth's position in the Premier League table - if they are fighting relegation, with Marco Rose's side having a tricky start, they are less inclined to do business.

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Scott's contract at the Vitality Stadium runs until June 2028 and Bournemouth have tried to extend his stay. However, the Englishman has rejected multiple contract offers from his employers, with the midfielder aware of interest from the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool, the latter managed by former Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola.

Foley has now promised Bournemouth supporters that the club are working to try and keep hold of Scott. He, however, admitted that sometimes players can have their heads turned by interest from the country's biggest clubs, and even namechecked Chelsea.

In an interview with talkSPORT, Foley said: "I think earning that kind of number should be commonplace, and we should be prepared to meet that challenge.

"At this point, we're convinced we're the right place for Alex to be and to stay, and we'll keep on addressing the 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 for the long haul.

"We haven't given up, but sometimes players get stars in their eyes, and they think that Chelsea or Manchester City is the right place to go. "We believe, if we keep on buying infrastructure and a common thread of leadership across the team then we will start keeping more and more players.

"People will be surprised about that, and they'll be able to earn substantial wages here.

"We have to respect the fact that a lot of our players are younger, and they've come to Bournemouth with the expectation that they'll get time to play and perhaps move on to a bigger team.

"We recognise that my job is to make players feel comfortable and provide them with the infrastructure they need to understand that.

"We're serious about what we're doing. We're in a brand new performance centre and it is as state of the art as they come.

"We're happy with where we are and we believe we'll start making progress in terms of retaining key talent.

"It may not be this year, it may not be next year in terms of everyone, but we're close.

"We have to prove to the players this is a place they want to be and that they want to stay and they don't want to move on because that's the way we really build a successful team."