Back when Alex Scott made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That prediction proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his maiden call-up to the full England team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a true blast from the past, a journey rarely told in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, never mind playing in the Premier League and representing England as well,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have transformed completely for me and my loved ones.”
So how did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has not been a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott an option and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he chose to remain on the island and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my mates at weekends because I had missed almost four and a half years of that experience. Getting that little bit of childhood again was something I really needed.
“To gain a bit of confidence by coming back and taking part in local football was huge for me. It was perhaps one of the most important things that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking his early progress after an promising start in adult football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled Scott. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus Luton.
He made eighty-three league appearances for the club while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he’ll play for his country and I think he will progress to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Within 90 days later, he joined the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
The midfielder experienced a difficult first season with the club, waiting until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost four months.
“I had a decent run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and it was turning out to be quite a terrible year 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 went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, forming a strong partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign just as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” the player said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and with luck I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
