How Chelsea could sign a hybrid of Morgan Rogers and Alex Scott

For Chelsea, excitement is in the air. The Blues have come on leaps and bounds since ending a turbulent 2025/26 campaign and welcoming Xabi Alonso to Stamford Bridge.

Of course, Alonso’s side are yet to kick a ball in a competitive capacity, and while pre-season results speak of gains made from cultural and tactical perspectives, confidence in this new project will ebb away without concrete progress in the Premier League.

Those in the know would speak of the intensity of Chelsea’s tour across Asia and Indonesia, flying up the Philippine Sea and strengthening bonds which were clearly too loose last season.

Morgan Rogers has now arrived. The Three Lions star joins after completing a £117m move from Aston Villa earlier this summer. He is expected to play off the left, with Cole Palmer beside him and someone such as Bournemouth’s Alex Scott pulling strings from the centre.

How Chelsea could set up if they sign Alex Scott

Chelsea have already seen a £64m offer knocked back for Scott this summer. BlueCo were left incensed after knowledge of their bid was made public, leading the Cherries to reinforce their not-for-sale stance – even after Scott rejected the offer of a contract extension

A natural-born dancer of a midfielder, Scott, 22, is one of the most exciting Englishmen out there, quickly emerging as a top target for a number of elite outfits following his performances under Andoni Iraola at the Vitality last term. Bournemouth want £80m for his signature.

He has a spring in his step, sure, but Scott is also intuitive and quick to react to danger. The game comes naturally to him, and with Enzo Fernandez’s prospects of remaining at Stamford Bridge looking slimmer and slimmer, it’s understandable that Alonso should want to pursue a deal for such a midfielder, placing him alongside Moises Caicedo.

Scott is a natural progresser, both through his passing and his movement. As Palmer directs creative traffic from the middle, Scott could form quite the partnership with Rogers down winding left-hand channels, even drifting out wide to accommodate Rogers on his travels into the box – something Alonso’s system will expect of the goalscoring attacker.

Alonso understands culture. He understands the importance of creating a community at a football club, and establishing the dressing room as the hub of such a group.

Rogers and Scott, England internationals, feed into that, and the Spanish manager is eager to follow it all up with a similar signing.

Chelsea in talks to sign a different midfielder

Arsenal have completed a £75m deal for Newcastle United captain Bruno Guimaraes, and it’s a move which could benefit Chelsea, with Hale End talent Myles Lewis-Skelly finding himself squeezed out of contention for a starting berth at the Emirates.

According to Blues correspondent Bobby Vincent, Lewis-Skelly has been offered to Chelsea and Manchester United following these recent developments.

REUTERS/Paul Childs

Recent reports from TEAMtalk suggest the Gunners value their homegrown talent at £60m. Whether Chelsea would pay such a sum is another question, but the fact he has been offered to them this month suggests their neighbours’ stance might be shifting.

Arsenal made it clear earlier in the transfer window that they would entertain the sale of Lewis-Skelly to a Premier League rival only for an astronomical figure. But Guimaraes’ arrival could change that.

Described as “the next Michael Essien” by Arsenal reporter Charles Watts, Lewis-Skelly is still only 19 years old, but he has already established himself as a key figure for Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal. One club insider has claimed that he could be a “future captain” in north London. Like Scott – and, in a way, Rogers – Lewis-Skelly has hit his stride as one of England’s most exciting young talents, and Chelsea are now determined to take a leaf from their own book and continue to stock up with such stars.

His leadership and dynamism may well have endeared him to Alonso, who prizes the kind of deep tactical understanding that comes naturally to the teenager. He has played most of his senior football as a left-back, but he is a natural midfielder, recognisable when watching his composed, cultured ball-playing.

Chelsea have sold Marc Cucurella to Real Madrid this summer, but have fixed the hole in the left side of their hull by signing Valentin Barco and, soon, Pedro Chavarria from Rayo Vallecano. With that in mind, there’s every chance that Alonso would feature Lewis-Skelly in midfield.

Perhaps that is where he sees the six-time England star. Perhaps he sees him as a Scott-esque midfield addition who has still got plenty of space in front of him to develop into a superstar.

Lewis-Skelly has a number of stylistic similarities to someone such as Scott. He completed 92% of his passes and 80% of his dribbles in the Premier League last term, but only started five games.

He also may need to leave one of England’s powerhouses (Rogers left Manchester City for Middlesbrough when it became clear his development would be hindered by so many young rivals), but after growing into his skin, could become the latest young prospect to emerge as a mainstay at Stamford Bridge.