Back when Alex Scott made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This statement proved to be something of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his first call-up to the senior England squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a proper throwback, a story rarely told in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the top division and playing for England too,” Scott said previously.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed completely for myself and my family.”
But in what way did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s path in football has been far from a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer 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 chose to stay on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my friends at weekends because I had missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. To have that slice of childhood back was something I definitely needed.
“Building a bit of self-belief by coming back and playing island football was huge for me. It was perhaps the most crucial factors that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his early progress after an impressive start in men’s football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled Scott. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to sign a contract.”
In just 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus the Hatters.
He went on to make eighty-three league outings for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being used as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
With his ability to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was selected in the league’s best XI and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he will represent his country and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Less than three months later, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder endured a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait 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 disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“I had a decent run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like almost another setback and it was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, forming a formidable understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the first team with the national coach.
And he has started this season equally as impressively for his club, featuring in all matches to guide them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” the player stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, getting better every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
