Manchester United's pursuit of Scott thwarted by Chelsea? Criticized for lackluster signings after top-four finish, it's a recurring bad habit.

After missing out on Elliott Anderson and Matheus Fernandes, and also passing on Sandro Tonali and Aurelien Tchouameni, Manchester United's current top midfield target is reportedly Bournemouth's Alex Scott. However, the 22-year-old England midfielder is not easy to acquire; Bournemouth refuse to sell unless a staggering fee of over £80 million is offered, and they are not the only ones interested—Manchester City and Arsenal have also contacted him in the past two weeks.

According to Chelsea blogger Simon Phillips, after selling Andrey Santos to Manchester United for £50 million, the Blues have also joined the race for Scott. Of course, this rumor is not very credible; unless Harvey Alonso sells Enzo Fernandez, Scott would likely be a substitute at Stamford Bridge, which he wouldn't consider.

Transfer expert Ben Jacobs said: "I think Manchester United want to first gauge Scott's intentions, find out if he will stay at Bournemouth, and then consider whether they can beat Manchester City and Arsenal in the race. Of course, those two teams may have other targets, like Manchester City with Ayub Bouaddi and Arsenal with Bruno Guimaraes."

Regarding Scott's future development, Jacobs added: "Negotiations between Bournemouth and Scott are ongoing and will continue into next week. The club hopes Scott will give them an answer as soon as possible before the season, telling them whether he wants to stay or leave. I would be surprised if Manchester United don't hold formal talks with him. We probably won't have to wait long to find out the answer."

Bournemouth are preparing for their first-ever European campaign, so they want to keep as many key players as possible who helped the club make history last season. Over the past 18 months, Bournemouth have sold Antoine Semenyo, Dean Huijsen, Milos Kerkez, Dango Ouattara, and Illya Zabarnyi, generating £253 million in transfer fees. They are certainly not short of money.

Scott's current contract has two years left. Although Bournemouth's stance is very firm, they have always been a selling club. Manchester United might be able to test their resolve to keep Scott with a generous offer.

Manchester United's lack of activity in the early summer window is not surprising. Sky Sports UK reports that after a season of fighting for Champions League qualification, once they secure it, United's transfer windows often become lackluster. Over the past decade or so, the club's management has been content with small successes. Once they clinch a Champions League spot, they tend to become lazy in recruitment, satisfied with earning money from the competition rather than truly challenging for the Premier League title.

Only when they lose Champions League qualification do United's owners feel the pain and spend big on players. For example, last summer they spent over £200 million on Sesko, Mbeumo, and Cunha to bolster the forward line, successfully helping the team finish third last season and regain Champions League status.

However, to compete with the best for the Premier League title, Manchester United must continue to invest heavily. Will Ratcliffe continue to do so this summer, or will he revert to the old ways? The upcoming midfield signings will reveal the answer.

If Manchester United are satisfied with just signing Santos and Ederson, and do not bring in more influential and high-quality midfielders, it will be hard to believe they are truly aiming to challenge for the Premier League title next season.