Back when Alex Scott made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This prediction proved to be something of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his first summons to the senior England squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a true throwback, a story rarely seen in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the top division and representing the national team as well,” Scott stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed drastically for myself and my family.”
But how did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s football journey has not been a typical one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they released him. Bournemouth gave Scott an option and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he chose to stay on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at home with my friends at the weekend because I missed almost several years of doing that. Getting that slice of childhood back was something I really needed.
“To gain a bit of confidence by coming back and playing local football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial things that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half replacement in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an promising beginning in adult football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled the player. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I played for his local side in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
Within a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
He went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being used as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.
With his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for England and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at the club, remarked previously.
Less than three months later, he signed for the Cherries for a reported fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
Scott endured a challenging first season with the club, having to wait until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost four months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“It was almost another setback and it was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a formidable partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign equally as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to help them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” the player said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, improving every day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
