Photo by Chris Lee - Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Photo by Chris Lee - Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
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Photo by Shubhajit Roy Karmakar/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
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Photo by Steve Christo - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images
Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images
As long as Chelsea sign a new midfielder, fans will not care what methods the club use to identify him. The engine room has been a huge problem for Xabi Alonso this season.
Everything is pointing towards that midfielder being Bournemouth’s Alex Scott, though supporters may have to wait until the summer to see him arrive at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea are definitely keen on signing Scott, but bringing him in in January will not be straightforward.
Bournemouth want to finish the season with Scott and are prepared to hand the 23-year-old a new contract with a release clause to ensure that happens. It would only delay the inevitable, though.
While the Cherries may be able to keep him beyond January, any release clause is likely to become active in the summer. Scott’s existing deal expires in 2028.
With Stewart not having an exit date, he could still have a say or two on recruitment in the coming months. However, once he goes, it looks like Chelsea are ready to rely on data a bit more.
An opportunity elsewhere could be good for Stewart, who is not the most popular figure among the Chelsea fan base alongside the club’s other sporting directors.