Alex Scott on being released by Southampton and how it helped him get to where he is today | OneFootball

Alex Scott believes that being released from Southampton’s academy at the age of 12 helped him become the player he is today.

The midfielder received his first senior England call-up last week after a strong start to the season in the Premier League for Bournemouth.

Despite his inclusion in the latest national team squad, Scott’s career has not come without setbacks. At the age of 12 he was deemed not good enough by Southampton and released and was then without a club for three years when he joined non-league Guernsey FC in 2019.

At the Channel Island side he played men’s football from the age of 16, much earlier than players that play in professional academies would have.

“When I got released, it was pretty upsetting that they did that to me,” he said. “Obviously, I wasn’t good enough at the time, and they saw that and released me, but it just felt like four years of my life had been committed so much to this. And for it to be, you know, blown away like that was heartbreaking at the time.

“But I think that definitely helped me. I took maybe three years just playing local football back home, seeing my friends again and enjoying life, seeing family members that I’d not seen for a while, and then got to 16 and I was ready to take that next step again. 

“Guernsey FC gave me that chance at 16, playing every game there, and then Bristol City came in. I couldn’t be more grateful to all the coaches back home, but especially the ones at Guernsey FC who gave me my chance to play men’s football at such a young age.”

Despite this setback in Scott’s career helping him get to where he is now, there were points that he almost gave up on the game all together.

“I finished school at 15 and I was not doing anything. I went to college for half a year when I was 16 doing a sport course because I didn’t know what else to do.

“I failed PE at school, so I wasn’t great at school. There was nothing really on my mind that I wanted to do, but I think when I was 16, it was like, I really want to go and push and try and be a footballer again.

“But before then I was clueless. I didn’t know what I was going to do, especially when I was at college at 16 and got my chance at Bristol City. They gave me a trial and thankfully I scored a hat-trick.”