Back when Alex Scott made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That statement turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his first call-up to the senior Three Lions squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a true 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 featuring in the top division and playing for England too,” the player said previously.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed completely for me and my loved ones.”
But how did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave Scott an option 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 stay on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my friends at the weekend because I missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. To have that slice of childhood again was a thing I definitely needed.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by returning and playing island football was huge for me. It was probably one of the most important factors that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League fixture 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 stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an promising start in adult football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” said the player. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
Within a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against the Hatters.
Scott went on to make 83 league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season award, was selected in the division’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for England and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Less than three months later, he joined Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
The midfielder experienced a difficult first season with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being in and out of the team.
His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost four months.
“I had a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was yet another obstacle and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, developing a formidable partnership in midfield with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the first team under the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign just as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for the game, improving every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
