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 assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
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 earned his first call-up to the full England squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a true blast from the past, a story rarely seen in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, never mind playing in the Premier League and representing the national team too,” the player said previously.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for myself and my family.”
But how did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Developing in non-league
His path in football has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and play for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they released him. Bournemouth gave Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose to remain on the island and play 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 chill at home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed almost four and a half years of doing that. Getting that little bit of youth again was something I really required.
“To gain some self-belief by returning and playing island football was massive for me. It was probably the most crucial factors 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 substitute in their Isthmian 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 he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance commented at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s development after an promising beginning in men’s football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” said Scott. “Day one I joined the youth team, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in London, returned home and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a contract.”
Within a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus Luton.
He made eighty-three league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he will represent England and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Less than three months later, he signed for the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
Scott endured a challenging first season with the Cherries, having to wait until October to earn 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 affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost several months.
“I had quite a good run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“It was yet another setback and it was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, developing a strong understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team under the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign equally as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to help them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” the player said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, getting better day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
