When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This prediction turned out to be something of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his first summons to the senior England squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a true blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, never mind playing in the top division and playing for the national team as well,” the player stated previously.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for me and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Developing in non-league
His football journey has been far from a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they released him. Bournemouth gave Scott an option and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he opted to remain on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed almost several years of doing that. To have that slice of childhood again was something I definitely needed.
“Building some confidence by returning and taking part in island football was massive for me. It was probably one of the most important factors that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach commented at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s development after an impressive beginning in men’s football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said the player. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, often being used as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s young player of the season award, was selected in the division’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for England and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Within three months later, he joined the Cherries for a understood fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder experienced a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“It was almost another obstacle and it was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, developing a formidable understanding in midfield with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign just as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to help them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my life,” the player stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying football, getting better day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
