Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This prediction turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his first call-up to the senior England squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a proper blast from the past, a journey seldom seen in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, let alone playing in the top division and representing the national team too,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed drastically for me and my family.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s football journey has not been a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he opted to remain on the island and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my mates at weekends because I had missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. Getting that slice of childhood again was a thing I definitely needed.
“Building a bit of self-belief by returning and taking part in island football was massive for me. It was perhaps one of the most important things that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach commented at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an impressive start in adult football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” said the player. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus Luton.
He made eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, often being used as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his ability to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I think he will represent England and I think he’ll go on to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at the club, remarked previously.
Within 90 days after, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
Scott experienced a difficult debut campaign with the club, waiting until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being in and out of the team.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly several months.
“I had a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was almost another obstacle and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, developing a strong partnership in the middle with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started this season equally as impressively for his club, playing in every game to help them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” Scott stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, getting better every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
