Back when Alex Scott made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This statement proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his first summons to the senior England team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy 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 making it as a professional football player, let alone playing in the Premier League and representing England too,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
So how did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early 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 he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave him an option and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he opted to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my friends at weekends because I had missed almost four and a half years of doing that. To have that slice of youth back was something I really required.
“To gain some confidence by coming back and playing local football was huge for me. It was perhaps one of the most important factors that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott became the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by islander their owner – had been monitoring his development after an impressive start in men’s football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” recalled the player. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the second day I was with the first team, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and by Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
Within 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus Luton.
He went on to make eighty-three league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill 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 nod to Manchester City and national team playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Less than 90 days later, he signed for the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
The midfielder endured a difficult first season with the club, having to wait until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was yet another obstacle and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, forming a strong partnership in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign equally 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 occasions of my career,” the player stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, getting better every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
