Back when Alex Scott made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This statement turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his first call-up to the full Three Lions team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a true blast from the past, a journey seldom told in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, never mind playing in the top division and representing the national team as well,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
So how did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Developing in the lower tiers
His football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they released him. Bournemouth gave him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to stay on the island and turn out for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed almost four and a half years of doing that. Getting that little bit of youth back was a thing I definitely needed.
“Building a bit of confidence by coming back and taking part in local football was massive for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial factors that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an impressive beginning in adult football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” recalled Scott. “The first day I joined the youth team, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus Luton.
He made eighty-three league outings for the club while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s best young player honour, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at the club, stated last year.
Within three months after, he joined the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
The midfielder experienced a difficult first season with the Cherries, waiting until October 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 just as affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost several months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“It was yet another obstacle and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, developing a strong partnership in midfield with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign equally as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to guide them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for the game, improving day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
