Back 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, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That statement turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his first summons to the full England squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a proper throwback, a journey seldom seen in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, let alone featuring in the top division and playing for the national team too,” the player stated previously.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
But how did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has not been a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to remain on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my friends at the weekend because I missed almost several years of doing that. Getting that slice of youth back was something I definitely required.
“Building some self-belief by returning and playing island football was massive for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important things that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their league match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include 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 runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking his early progress after an impressive start in adult football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” recalled the player. “Day one I joined the youth team, the next day I was with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back 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, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against the Hatters.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league outings for the Robins while in his teens, often being used as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
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 England playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s best young player honour, was selected in the league’s best XI and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he will represent his country and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at the club, stated previously.
Less than three months after, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
The midfielder endured a difficult first season with the club, having to wait until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly several months.
“I had 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 a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, forming a formidable partnership in the middle with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season just as strongly for his club, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my career,” the player stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
