Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That prediction turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his first call-up to the senior Three Lions team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a true throwback, 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 professional football player, let alone featuring in the Premier League and representing England as well,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Learning in the lower tiers
His path in football has been far from a typical one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he opted to stay on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed almost several years of doing that. To have that little bit of childhood back was something I definitely required.
“To gain some confidence by returning and playing island football was massive for me. It was perhaps one of the most important factors that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their league match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” manager the coach commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his development after an impressive beginning in men’s football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said Scott. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within a year and a half, still 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 in his teens, often being used as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for England and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at the club, remarked previously.
Within three months later, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost four months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and it was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, forming a strong understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign equally as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to help them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special moments of my life,” the player said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, getting better day on day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
