Manchester United have made direct contact with Bournemouth about sealing a deal to sign midfield star Alex Scott, according to BBC Sport journalist Nizaar Kinsella.

The Red Devils have made it a priority to bolster their midfield this summer, but have missed out on top targets Elliot Anderson and Matheus Fernandes to Man City and Tottenham Hotspur respectively, having refused to meet their asking prices.

United are now looking at alternatives in the market and have identified the Englishman as a potential option heading into the new season.

Scott, who has been described as ‘unbelievable’, is entering the final two years of his contract at the Vitality Stadium, and is someone the Cherries are desperate to keep hold of after losing Antoine Semenyo and Andoni Iraola since the turn of the year.

The central midfielder is understood to be open to leaving this summer for a new challenge, but Bournemouth do not want to lose another key player and are keen to offer him a new contract to tie his long-term future to the club. They’ve also slapped an £80m asking price on his head to deter any interested parties, using the fees of Fernandes and Anderson as a measuring stick.

It’s reported by the BBC that Man Utd have in fact made ‘direct contact’ with Bournemouth about a deal for the 22-year-old, but the response they received at the time was that he is not for sale under any circumstances in this transfer window.

While talks over a new deal haven’t progressed, the club are planning to keep him for at least another season, leaving Man Utd forced to look at even more alternative options, having missed out on yet another midfield target during their summer rebuild attempt.

Scott is believed to be open to a move to Old Trafford, with Champions League football expected to be a key pulling point.

Scott and Mainoo Pairing is Lightweight

via Reuters

While Scott is undoubtedly a top, top midfield talent, a midfield pairing of him and Kobbie Mainoo would certainly have it’s flaws. Both players like to carry the ball from deeper positions and are more attack-minded, although they are both capable of doing the dirty work too.

But in a league that is so big on physicality, it may be a bit lightweight as a starting pairing, and Man Utd must look to address that issue with any other midfield signings they make, or risk struggling throughout the campaign.

Ederson is set to arrive from Atalanta which could help, while there is also interest in Carlos Baleba and Aurelien Tchouameni, but it seems that Scott is the man at the top of their wishlist currently.

Rayan Cherki has claimed he was floored by the many fouls Paraguay were allowed to get away with by referee Ilgiz Tantashev during France‘s Round of 32 victory.

Kylian Mbappé‘s seventh strike of the tournament, a figure that puts him on a par with Lionel Messi, was enough to see off an adrenaline-fuelled Paraguay side that stirred controversy with their aggressive tactics.

That anger was further intensified due to Tantashev’s failure to book a single Paraguayan player, despite their combative display drawing criticism from fans and pundits.

Cherki Stunned by Lack of Cards

Kyle Ross (IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters)

The Manchester City star, who came on in the second half for Ousmane Dembele, expressed his surprise at the officiating after the game. “I didn’t know Paraguay could do 30 fouls without getting a yellow card.”

What made it particularly frustrating for the French players was that whilst no Paraguay players saw a card, three of their own (Bradley Barcola, Manu Kone and Michael Olise) were awarded cautions.

Tantashev is an experienced referee at the top-level, having been a FIFA-listed ref for over a decade. However, it is almost impossible to explain how midfielder Matías Galarza was allowed to get away without a booking despite the many interactions he had with the French team.

Fans Demand “Investigation”

Referee Ilgiz Tantashev with Kylian Mbappe via REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

Social media was lit up with scathing comments that included questioning the officiating throughout and that the referee should be investigated for how one-sided the card count was.

The consensus was that the referee had lost control of the game; it was poor game management at the highest level, which is strange given the strict process that FIFA uses when collating their World Cup officiating teams.

One supporter called it “one of the worst referee performances” they’d seen at any level, whilst another stated it was a “shocking performance from the ref.”

Former City player Joe Hart slammed the performance on the BBC’s coverage, claiming it was an “absolute disgrace” and he wouldn’t want his side to win in that manner.

It remains to be seen if he will face any action from FIFA ahead of the quarter-finals, and it will be interesting to see if he will be awarded any games in the final few rounds after this display.

France now face Morocco in the quarter-finals after the African side knocked out home nation Canada with a convincing three-goal victory, with the two sides meeting again following Les Bleus’ semi-final win at Qatar in 2022.

The real reason why Michael Olise was ‘kicked out’ of Chelsea’s academy has emerged as the winger continues to prove he’s one of the best players in the world during this summer’s World Cup. The Bayern Munich superstar assisted twice in France’s 3-0 win over Norway in the Round of 32 on Monday night.

He is running away as the competition’s top assist-provider, with his overall tally now at five. But this is nothing new for the 24-year-old, who has shown plenty of flashes of brilliance over the years, including for Crystal Palace during his time in the Premier League. But because of his recent performances, he’s finally in the conversation for the Ballon d’Or.

Olise, for that reason, goes down as yet another special talent that Chelsea let go too easily. Nowadays, nobody can comprehend such a rash decision as those at Stamford Bridge struggle to get off their seat for Alejandro Garnacho and other equally poor wide men – but a reason has now emerged.

Why Chelsea Kicked Michael Olise Out of Their Youth Academy

Olise emerged at Reading in England’s lower leagues, before furthering his potential at Crystal Palace and then supercharging his talent following a 2024 transfer to Bayern. But Reading was the last club to get hands on Olise, picking up the pieces after Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City had him first.

Jose Gomes was the manager at Reading who saw the potential in Olise, and even stopped him getting kicked out there, too. “Before he was 14, he was at Arsenal’s youth academy, but he didn’t adapt,” he told AS amid transfer links to Real Madrid.

Gomes went to bat for Olise when his Reading future – and perhaps any pro career at that stage – was in jeopardy, telling the “youth academy directors that the boy didn’t want to be a mathematician or an engineer, but a soccer player.”

He also explained: “At [Manchester] City, it was because his teammates laughed at him. He had weak arms, and English boys were strong. When the fitness coach told them to do push ups, he struggled a lot, and his teammates mocked him. He felt humiliated and left.”

How Reading Helped Nurture Olise’s Special Talents

Lee Smith via Action Images, Reuters

Olise debuted for Reading in March 2019, at age 17, having been promised a chance by Gomes if he could get through physically brutal treatment in training without quitting. “I told my players not to hold back when it came to tackling him hard in training so he could learn what professional soccer is like. Michael complained and cried … he didn’t understand it at the time.

“I told him that if he could endure a week of his teammates’ defensive actions without crying, I’d call him up. In the end, it was two weeks, and when I thought he was ready, I called him up.”

It’s safe to say Olise no longer looks like a player trying to earn the spotlight, he demands it instead. Pace, flair, dribbling, passing, dead-ball prowess, the unrelenting desire to take on his man and drive any defence back – the Frenchman is a player that flaunts every trait in the playbook that a manager would ever want from their wide man.

And if the traditional winger was ever a dying art form, it could be soundly argued that the 24-year-old has helped its all-action renaissance almost entirely by himself. It’s about time he got his flowers and proved the aforementioned trio of English clubs wrong.