Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This statement turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his maiden call-up to the full England squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a proper blast from the past, a story rarely seen in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, never mind featuring in the top division and playing for the national team as well,” the player stated previously.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for me and my family.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Learning in the lower tiers
His football journey has been far from a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they released him. Bournemouth gave Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he opted to stay on the island and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my mates at the weekend because I missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. To have that little bit of youth back was a thing I really required.
“To gain a bit of confidence by returning and playing island football was massive for me. It was perhaps one of the most important factors that led me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history 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 figuring out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his development after an impressive start in adult football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said Scott. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus the Hatters.
He made 83 league outings for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being used as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his ability to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and national team playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he’ll play for England and I think he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at the club, stated last year.
Within three months after, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
Scott endured a challenging first season with the Cherries, waiting until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“It was yet another obstacle and it was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, developing a formidable partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign just as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in every game to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, keep enjoying the game, getting better every day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
