When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This statement turned out to be something of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his first call-up to the full Three Lions team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a proper blast from the past, a story seldom seen in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, let alone playing in the Premier League and playing for the national team as well,” the player stated previously.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have changed drastically for myself and my family.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s path in football has been far from a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my mates at weekends because I missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. To have that little bit of youth again was something I really needed.
“Building a bit of confidence by coming back and taking part in local football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial things that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their league fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – owned by islander their owner – had been monitoring his development after an promising beginning in men’s football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” said Scott. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I played for his local side in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
Within a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus Luton.
He made eighty-three league appearances for the club while in his teens, often being used as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – such was his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for his country and I think he will progress to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at the club, stated previously.
Within three months later, he joined the Cherries for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder experienced a difficult debut campaign with the club, waiting until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost four months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like almost another setback and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, forming a strong partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign just as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to help them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” Scott said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, keep enjoying the game, getting better every day, and with luck I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
