CHERRIES have long admired Alex Scott.

It took multiple bids to prise him away from Bristol City this summer, Cherries following up on interest that spanned across numerous windows.

But even before Scott was a Robin, Cherries harboured hopes of seeing the Guernsey-born midfielder in red and black.

Following his release from Southampton as a young teenager, Scott spent time with Cherries’ academy, but a permanent move never transpired.

Instead, he returned to Guernsey, where he joined the island’s eponymous non-league team and started to make his way in men’s football.

After a debut at 16, Bristol City soon swooped, Scott going on to make 91 appearances for the Robins across the Championship and cup competitions.

Seven years and a reported £25million later and Scott is back at Cherries – somewhere he believes is the perfect place for him.

“It's crazy,” he begins as he talks about his journey with the Daily Echo.

“It's been a whirlwind few years.

“I was here when I was 13, 14 years old, and it didn't go to plan.

“Then I took the time out, went back home and played football.

“Then Bristol at 16 and then back here at 19, which has just been, like I said, a whirlwind.

“I just love, love being here. I love being here every day.

“It didn't work out back then for whatever reason. But now it's definitely the right club for me.

“I mentioned before, the staff and the players have all been brilliant. You know, I've made new friends and that's just something that's really important to me.

“You know, being friendly with everyone off the pitch and, you know, having a real tight group is only going to make you better out there when you're playing games.

“It's important to have those things in a team.”

Matt Le Tissier will take some dislodging as Guernsey’s most famous footballing export, but Scott already has a battle on his hands to claim the title of the Channel Island’s current best player.

That’s because his stepsister is England international and Manchester United star Maya Le Tissier, the pair having grown up playing together for Guernsey-based St Martin’s.

Whilst some reports name Maya Le Tissier (no relation to Matt) as Scott’s half-sister, the 20-year-old clarified that they were in fact siblings via marriage.

Bournemouth Echo: Credit: PACredit: PA (Image: PA)

“That's my stepsister,” he restarted.

“My dad's with her mum, so she's my stepsister.

“We grew up, I don't know what age that would have been when they were together, but we've grown up playing for the same team all our lives.

“When I was at Southampton, she was playing for Hampshire, so we were going away together.

“We're really close, we speak all the time.

“She's a Liverpool fan actually, so she messaged me before the game, just with an eyes emoji.

“I'm sure she enjoyed that one. But we're really close and she's flying in the women's game, playing for England.

“I'm so proud of how far she's come.

“And we all knew back then how good she was, where she was going to go in football.

“So you know it's a really proud moment for all of us and the family as well, to see how well she's doing.”

Family is clearly important to Scott, with his family already frequent visitors from his island home.

Although closer to France than England, the Channel Islands have long had close links to Dorset, with Bournemouth 93 miles away from Guernsey.

Ferries operate from Poole out to both Jersey and Guernsey, whilst flights are possible from nearby Southampton.

“It is close - I mean you can either get the ferry or fly over,” Scott commented.

“For me, I'll never really get the time to go home with the busy schedule we have. But my family are over as much as I can.

“My dad and granddad were at the (Liverpool) game, so they're trying to get over as much as possible.

“My mum's over next week as well, so I've continuously got people coming over to see me.

“So it's good and it's closer for them. I think they were pretty happy for me when I signed for Bournemouth!”