Arsenal met with firm response as they take first step in bid to sign £80m-rated Alex Scott

Bournemouth have rejected an approach from Arsenal for Alex Scott, insisting he is not for sale, talkSPORT understands.

Scott has been attracting interest from a number of big-name Premier League sides, with Manchester United and Chelsea also looking to secure his services.

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Premier League champions Arsenal are keen on signing a new central midfielder, with the Cherries star among their targets.

But Bournemouth have now made their stance on their key man clear, as they informed the north Londoners on their intention to keep Scott.

talkSPORT understands they are hopeful Scott will sign a new contract this summer, who has two years left on his current deal.

Despite being desperate to keep the England international, there appears to be some wiggle room here.

Bournemouth are believed to value him at £80million, and it remains to be seen how they would respond to such an offer.

The Cherries are gearing up for their first ever European campaign, having secured Europa League qualification last term, with Scott playing a key role by making 37 appearances and scoring three goals.

And an impressive campaign culminated in him being invited to join England’s pre-World Cup training camp in Florida earlier this month.

While Scott did not make his senior Three Lions debut in either of their friendly clashes with New Zealand and Costa Rica, he will no doubt have his sights set on this in the near future.

But it remains to be seen if this will come as a Bournemouth player, with no shortage of big-name sides interested.

In demand

talkSPORT’s Ben Jacobs recently reported that the Cherries are set to discuss Scott’s future as Man United, Chelsea and Arsenal aim to lure him away from the Vitality Stadium.

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The ex-Bristol City man has made 89 appearances for the Cherries since arriving three years ago in a deal thought to be worth around £25m.

Having represented Southampton and Bournemouth at youth level, Scott joined Guernsey FC in 2019.

Born on the Channel Islands, Scott received his first senior England call-up for last November’s World Cup qualifiers against Serbia and Albania, but did not feature then either.

While Arsenal have been dealt an early blow in their pursuit of Scott, he isn’t the only midfielder they are eyeing up.

The Gunners have also explored moves for Newcastle duo Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali.

While the Magpies insist there have been no direct club-to-club talks,  intermediaries have been exploring a deal, including tabling an offer of around £55million.

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The north Londoners are willing to pay over this sum, but have several other midfielders on their list of targets, including Scott.

Guimaraes’ Newcastle teammate Tonali is also an option, with Arsenal’s north London rivals Tottenham pushing to try and reach an agreement with the Italian before other suitors formalise their interest.

Mikel Arteta‘s side have also previously been linked with West Ham’s Matheus Fernandes, although both Manchester United and Spurs appear to have stolen a march here.

Tottenham are in advanced talks with the Portugal midfielder, and are hopeful of hijacking the Red Devils’ efforts, who have also discussed a move with the player.

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