Back when Alex Scott made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This statement proved to be something of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his first call-up to the full Three Lions team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a true throwback, a journey rarely told in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the top division and playing for the national team as well,” Scott stated 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 affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s football journey has been far from a typical one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he opted to remain on the island and turn out for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to chill at home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed almost four and a half years of doing that. To have that slice of childhood again was a thing I really required.
“Building a bit of confidence by coming back and taking part in local football was huge for me. It was perhaps the most crucial things that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s development after an promising start in men’s football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said Scott. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I featured for his local side 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, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against the Hatters.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, often being used as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his ability to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the league’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at the club, remarked last year.
Less than 90 days after, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
Scott endured a difficult first season with the club, waiting until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost several 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 Scott.
“It was almost another obstacle and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, forming a formidable understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign just as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, improving every day, and with luck I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
