Bristol City manager Nigel Pearson insist Alex Scott’s potential departure is not a forgone conclusion.
The midfielder is one of the most highly-rated young players in the country and has been tipped to make a move to the Premier League this summer.
West Ham are interested in the 19-year-old and are understood to have held initial talks with the teenager’s representatives.
Manager David Moyes is making a conscious effort to target British-based players this summer and is also interested in a move for Sunderland centre-back Dan Ballard.
Moyes boasts a good track-record of targeting players from the Championship, most notably the arrival of Jarrod Bowen from Hull City in 2020.
Still, Pearson has stressed that the Robins are still fighting to keep Scott and hit back at suggestions they were already looking to replace their academy graduate.
“Everybody seems keen to write Alex Scott off as being gone,” Pearson told Bristol Live.
“If we sign somebody in that area, we’re not replacing Alex Scott.
“Let me be absolutely crystal clear on that from my own perspective, anybody that we are either interested in or trying to sign or looking at in midfield is not to make room for then Alex Scott going, that’s not what we’re doing.”
West Ham could be set for a major revamp in midfield this summer with Fulham’s Joao Palhinha another target.
Club captain Declan Rice is expected to leave the club amid rival interest from both Manchester City and Arsenal.
