Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This prediction proved to be something of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his first summons to the full Three Lions team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a proper blast from the past, a journey seldom told in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the Premier League and playing for England too,” the player stated previously.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for myself and my family.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has not been a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they released him. The Cherries gave him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he chose to stay on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my mates at weekends because I missed almost several years of doing that. To have that little bit of childhood back was something I definitely needed.
“Building a bit of self-belief by returning and playing island football was huge for me. It was perhaps the most crucial things that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“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.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – owned by islander their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an impressive start in adult football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled Scott. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I played for his local side in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
Within 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against Luton.
Scott went on to make 83 league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and England playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he will represent England and I think he will progress to the top of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at the club, remarked last year.
Within three months later, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being in and out of the team.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly several months.
“There was a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win 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 with the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign just as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in every game to guide them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” Scott said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, getting better day on day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
