Exclusive: Tottenham eye ‘Guernsey Grealish’ ahead of summer transfer window

Tottenham Hotspur are monitoring Bristol City 18-year-old midfield talent Alex Scott.

London World understands that Spurs sent senior scout Peter Braund to Ashton Gate recently to make a check on the attacking midfielder, who was this week reportedly on the watch list of West Ham and Everton too.

Braund also took in Scott when he watched England U19s beat Sweden U19s in Stockholm last November, a game in which the former Guernsey FC player grabbed two assists in a 2-0 win, setting up Spurs striker Dane Scarlett and Chelsea defender Levi Colwill.

No other 18-year-old has played more minutes than Bristol City's burgeoning midfielder, and sources indicate that Antonio Conte's side are right at the front of the queue for a player who has been dubbed the 'Guernsey Grealish' due to the way he carries the ball through midfield, is technically excellent, and is adept at winning free-kicks.

Though Spurs may not follow up interest come the summer, the Lilywhites did miss out on Jack Grealish back in the 2018 summer and may not want to pass up on another young midfield talent flourishing in the EFL.

Scott is rated by WhoScored.com - the Opta-powered statistics website - as the third best player under 20 in the Championship, only behind Liverpool-bound Fabio Carvalho and on loan Chelsea defender Levi Colwill, scorer of the second goal at the Skytteholms IP stadium for Ian Foster's side.

Scott has been given his chance in the first team this season by Bristol City manager Nigel Pearson and the young talent is contracted until 2025. Pearson's assistant Curtis Fleming this week insisted that he was looking forward to working with the prospect again next season, however there was also an admission that the right money would take Scott away.

The Robins announced a £38.4m pre-tax financial loss for the 2020/21 season and CEO Richard Gould has explained previously that the club is one of several in the Championship who are at risk of a points deduction for breaking the EFL's rules on Profitability and Sustainability.

Pearson has floated the idea previously that one of the club's blossoming young talents could be sold in the summer to help with that, though the club also have interest in striker Antoine Semenyo and midfielder Han-Noah Massengo.

The list of clubs watching Scott grows by the day, although the versatile midfielder supported Tottenham growing up. It remains to be seen if managing director of football Fabio Paratici and chairman Daniel Levy sanction a move at the end of the campaign, in what is expected to be a key off-season for the Lilywhites.

The North London club brought Joe Rodon from Swansea City last summer after he impressed in the Championship but the Wales defender is yet to start a league game this campaign, showing how difficult it is for young talents from the EFL to break through at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, however.

Certainly Scott looks destined for the Premier League at some stage of his career however. He has three goals and two assists from 24 starts in the Championship.

“Where is he going to play consistently well? Fleming said at a press conference this week, when asked about the versatile midfielder who has played six different positions in 2021/22. "At the moment he’s still a young guy learning his trade.

“If a big club comes in and pays millions and millions of pounds for him, he’s not going to play. He’s not going to play because of the nature of the business. I’m not saying there's a lack of ability but he would be going into a different environment where there are more expectations."