When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This statement turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his maiden summons to the full England squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a true blast from the past, a story seldom told in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, never mind featuring in the Premier League and representing the national team as well,” Scott stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for me and my family.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has not been a typical one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before he turned 13, however, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books 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 hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my friends at weekends because I had missed almost four and a half years of doing that. To have that slice of youth back was something I really required.
“Building a bit of confidence by coming back and playing island football was massive for me. It was probably the most crucial things that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – owned by islander their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an impressive start in adult football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said Scott. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I played for his local side in London, travelled back and by 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 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus Luton.
He made eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled 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 season he claimed the second tier’s best young player honour, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he will represent England and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Within three months after, he joined Bournemouth for a reported fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
The midfielder experienced a difficult first season with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“It was yet another setback and it was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, forming a formidable partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign just as impressively for his club, playing in all matches to help them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” Scott said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
