Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That statement turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his first call-up to the senior England squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a true throwback, a story rarely seen in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, let alone playing in the Premier League and playing for the national team too,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for myself and my family.”
But how did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to stay on the island 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 my home with my friends at weekends because I missed almost four and a half years of doing that. To have that slice of childhood again was something I definitely needed.
“To gain some confidence by coming back and taking part in local football was massive for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important things that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” manager 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 pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an impressive beginning in men’s football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled the player. “Day one I joined the youth team, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus the Hatters.
He went on to make 83 league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was selected in the division’s best XI and was named 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 top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at the club, stated last year.
Less than 90 days later, he signed for the Cherries for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
Scott endured a challenging first season with the club, waiting until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost several months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was yet another obstacle and it was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, developing a formidable understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign just as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to guide them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” the player stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for football, getting better day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
