There have been a few weaknesses holding Tottenham Hotspur back this season, and while the biggest ones are the lack of goals and overall lack of attacking quality, Spurs continue to have issues with their midfield, too.
While some of that would be fixed by Thomas Frank trusting young gems Lucas Bergvall, Archie Gray, and even Pape Matar Sarr more, Tottenham already knew last summer transfer window that they needed to sign a top young deep lying playmaker. Hence why they had interest in Adam Wharton, who will likely end up being priced out of Spurs range, regardless of the refrain the club want to give about being willing to spend more with Daniel Levy gone.
So Tottenham are going to have to look at alternatives who may be cheaper. According to a report from TEAMtalk's Dean Jones, Tottenham Hotspur are circling back to 22-year-old Bournemouth center midfielder Alex Scott as a transfer target in 2026. They were previously in on Scott in 2023 but did not sign him for 25 million pounds, which was the final fee Bournemouth paid to bag him.
A younger option for Tottenham, too
Scott has since gone on to become a success for the Cherries, and he is now joining Antoine Semenyo as a player Spurs could look to sign from them to fill a key need in 2026. Now, Scott will likely cost substantially more than what Spurs could have gotten him for in 2022, and it would not be surprising if he goes for double 25 million pounds. But that would still be half of what Wharton would go for.
This season, Scott has been great for Bournemouth in their bid to surprise for European football. He is averaging nearly two tackles per game with around 0.5 dribbles allowed per match, averaging 1.6 fouls drawn per game to boot.
The thing is, he's not really a playmaker, but he is a good box-to-box midfielder who can win possession and build play. He is having a better season than Rodrigo Bentancur and is younger than the struggling Uruguayan international, whom Spurs somehow signed to an extension this season and have been frustratingly praising for the absolute bare minimum in midfield.
Scott isn't a bad player, and he should be on Spurs radar. He is better than Bentancur. But he also doesn't have that world-class "it" factor like Wharton, and Spurs need those kinds of superstars if they really want to compete with Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester City in the Premier League going forward.