Back when Alex Scott made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That statement turned out to be something of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his maiden call-up to the senior England team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a true blast from the past, a story seldom seen in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the Premier League and representing the national team as well,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s path in football has not been a typical one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave Scott an option and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to stay on Guernsey and turn out for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my friends at the weekend because I missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. To have that little bit of youth back was something I definitely required.
“Building some self-belief by coming back and playing local football was huge for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important things that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by islander their owner – had been monitoring his development after an promising beginning in adult football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.
“It was hectic,” said Scott. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured 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 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 versus the Hatters.
He went on to make eighty-three league outings for the club while still a teenager, often being used as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his ability to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at the club, stated last year.
Less than 90 days after, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
Scott endured a difficult first season with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost four months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was yet another obstacle and it was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, forming a formidable partnership in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to guide them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” the player said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, getting better every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
