Scott sale could make millions for Bristol City

Alex Scott has been called up to the England senior squad and made 80 Premier League appearances since leaving Bristol City for Bournemouth [Getty Images]

Bristol City owner Steve Lansdown says the Championship club will benefit financially if AFC Bournemouth sell midfielder Alex Scott.

The Robins recruited Scott from non-league Guernsey FC in December 2019 and sold him to the Cherries in a deal worth about £25m three-and-a-half years later.

The England Under-21 international has impressed in his time in the Premier League and has attracted interest from the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal, with the Cherries rejecting a £64m bid from the Blues last month.

Bournemouth say Scott - who is under contract until 2028 - is not for sale, despite the midfielder turning down a new deal.

"We would never let a player depart without having a sell-on clause," Lansdown told BBC Guernsey.

"We had one with Antoine Semenyo, who also went to Bournemouth and has now gone to Manchester City.

"So we'll be hopeful that Alex will be sold by Bournemouth at some point in the future because we will then get a share of some of the proceeds.

"You take a player on, you invest in their future, their training, their medicals and all the other aspects, and you want them to play for you. And if they can't play for you and you can move them on to somewhere else, you hopefully get a fee, an ongoing fee, if they go to a bigger club again."

Lansdown would not disclose the level of sell-on clause in the deal between Bristol City and Bournemouth for Scott.

But in general they are a percentage of the profit the selling club makes on a player - so if City had a 20% sell-on and Bournemouth got their reported £80m price tag then the Championship side could make as much as £11m.

Bournemouth reject £64m bid from Chelsea for Scott

Scott not for sale despite contract issue

'People take the Mickey out of Bristol'

That level of money would go a long way to helping Bristol City and Lansdown's ambition to try to reach the Championship play-offs at the end of this season.

Lansdown, who made his fortune founding the finance firm Hargreaves Lansdown, took over as Bristol City chairman in 2002 having already been majority shareholder.

He went on to take control of Bristol Rugby in 2012 having funded the club for a number of years, bringing the sides together under the Bristol Sport banner.

Lansdown says he is looking for new investment in his sides, who both play at Ashton Gate, as he aims to push towards the Premier League with Bristol City.

"I've made it perfectly clear that I've been looking for investment into Bristol City to go either alongside me or basically take me out of it at some point in the future," he said.

"We're not at that point yet, but we're looking, we're talking to people and we'll see where it leads us.

"But it's a big business football and if we want to be at the top of the game we need to have that investment."

He added: "Obviously, your supporter base wants you to spend money and wants you to be successful, that's the outside pressures.

"The inside pressures are keeping a balanced budget as much as you possibly can.

"You can't really do that without injecting capital in there, so the amount of capital you put in there dictates how well you do.

"So the more people who get to invest into the club, and that's why I'm saying we're looking for new investment, the better chances you have of being successful."

Latest Bristol City news, analysis and fan views

Indexed and credited by AIPROPX. Originating outlet: Yahoo Sports. Open at source →