Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images
Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images
Photo by Vince Mignott/MB Media/Getty Images
Photo by Vince Mignott/MB Media/Getty Images
Winstanley and Stewart for Chelsea
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images
Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images
Photo by Rob Newell - CameraSport via Getty Images
Photo by Rob Newell - CameraSport via Getty Images
Split image - Alex Scott of AFC Bournemouth and Elliot Anderson of Manchester City
Split image - Alex Scott of AFC Bournemouth and Elliot Anderson of Manchester City
Bournemouth could demand up to £130m for Scott in the January transfer window. After they begin negotiations with the Cherries, you suspect that valuation will come down a bit, but when you look at how the midfielder market was before the start of this season, Scott is easily going to fetch £100m for Bournemouth. If Chelsea offer that, it will tell us everything we need to know.
On TalkingPoints, we recently asked what kind of impact Scott would make on this Chelsea team if the Blues land him. The feedback was quite positive, with one supporter even claiming that Scott is a better player than Anderson. But what do the stats say?
Well, going forward, Scott has offered much more than his England teammate this season. He has scored one goal and is averaging 2.2 key passes per game in the Premier League, according to WhoScored.
In contrast, Anderson has yet to score for City and is only averaging 0.8 key passes per game. With that being said, his overall passing has been better.
Anderson is completing 87 passes per game with a passing accuracy of 90%. Scott is making 50 passes on average and has a passing accuracy of 81.6%.
Of course, you have to take into account their roles in their respective teams and how each team plays. Scott has definitely been more of a box-to-box midfielder, while Anderson has operated as a No.6 in a City side who obviously see more of the ball than Bournemouth.
It is probably one reason why Scott is covering more ground than Anderson. As per FotMob, Scott’s distance covered per 90 minutes is 11.7 km, while Anderson’s is 11.3 km. Playing deeper, it is also a possible explanation for why the latter is making more tackles.
The Verdict
With Scott and Anderson both being young English midfielders, it is very easy to lump them into the same category. But they are two different midfield profiles, or they are at least being used in different ways during the current campaign.
Even so, Anderson could still do what Scott is doing at Bournemouth, but you would not necessarily say that Scott could fulfil Anderson’s role at City.
With Anderson effectively replacing Rodri, many had doubts that the former Nottingham Forest man himself would be able to do the job in the No.6 role, but he has. Anderson has got the passing ability to retain possession under pressure like Rodri but also move the ball forward and through the lines.
Scott does not seem as capable, and while he has the characteristics of a very good box-to-box midfielder, Anderson had no trouble doing that role at Forest either.
Ultimately, Anderson just seems to have a bit more to the technical side of his game at the moment and has proved he can carry out different midfield roles. The jury is still out on Scott, whose passing and receiving skills are really going to come under the microscope when he gets his big move.
At Chelsea, Scott will be facing low blocks almost every week. And when the Blues take on the likes of City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Brighton & Hove Albion, for example, there are going to be far more situations where he is being pressed and put under pressure near the edge of his box. Will he still be able to receive the ball? Will he still be able to make a progressive pass?
Scott wants to join Chelsea, so we are likely to find out. But today, if it were a choice between the Bournemouth star and Anderson, it is hard to look past the latter.