Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This prediction turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Today aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his first call-up to the full Three Lions squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a proper blast from the past, a story seldom told in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, let alone playing in the top division and playing for the national team too,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Learning in non-league
His path in football has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. 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 was not in it.
Instead, he chose to stay on Guernsey and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over 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 had missed almost several years of that experience. To have that slice of youth back was a thing I really required.
“Building a bit of self-belief by coming back and taking part in local football was massive for me. It was probably one of the most important things that led me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“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 at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by islander their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an promising start in men’s football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said Scott. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I played for his local side in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
In just a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against Luton.
Scott made eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being used as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – such was his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s best young player honour, was chosen in the division’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 think he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Within 90 days later, he joined the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
The midfielder endured a difficult first season with the Cherries, waiting until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost several months.
“There was a decent run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and it was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, developing a formidable partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign just as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to guide them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” Scott said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for the game, improving every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
