Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “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 an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his first summons to the full England squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a true throwback, a journey seldom told in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, never mind playing in the Premier League and playing for the national team as well,” the player stated previously.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for me and my family.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
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’ youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they released him. Bournemouth gave Scott an option and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose to remain on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my mates at weekends because I missed almost four and a half years of that experience. To have that slice of youth back was a thing I really required.
“Building a bit of confidence by coming back and taking part in island football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial things that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping 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.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by islander their owner – had been tracking Scott’s development after an promising start in adult football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled Scott. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against Luton.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league outings for the club while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for his country and I think he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Less than 90 days after, he joined Bournemouth for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
The midfielder endured a challenging first season with the club, waiting until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost four months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was almost another obstacle and it was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, forming a strong partnership in midfield with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as strongly for his club, featuring in all matches to help them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special moments of my life,” Scott said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, getting better every day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
