When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This statement proved to be something of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his first summons to the full England squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a proper blast from the past, a journey seldom told in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, never mind playing in the top division and playing for the national team as well,” Scott stated previously.
“It has been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
But how did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an option and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to remain on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at my 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 childhood back was something I really required.
“Building a bit of self-belief by returning and playing local football was huge for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial things that led me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance commented at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring his early progress after an promising start in men’s football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“It was hectic,” said Scott. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in London, travelled back 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 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 Luton.
Scott made eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at the club, stated previously.
Less than 90 days later, he signed for the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder endured a difficult first season with the Cherries, having to wait until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly several months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“It was almost another setback and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games 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 first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season equally as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to guide them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” the player said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, getting better every day, and with luck I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
