When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This statement proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his maiden summons to the senior Three Lions squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a true blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the Premier League and representing the national team too,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for me and my family.”
So how did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Learning in non-league
His football journey has not been a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they released him. The Cherries gave Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he opted to remain on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my friends at the weekend because I missed almost four and a half years of that experience. To have that slice of childhood again was something I definitely required.
“To gain some confidence by returning and taking part in local football was huge for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important factors that led 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 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his 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.
“Midweek I played for his local side in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
In just 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against the Hatters.
Scott went on to make 83 league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
With his ability to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s best young player award, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he will represent England and I think he will progress to the top of the game,” his former manager, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Within 90 days after, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly several months.
“There was a decent run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like almost another setback and it was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, developing a strong understanding in midfield with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign just as impressively for his club, featuring in all matches to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” the player said recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, getting better day on day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
