When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That statement proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his maiden summons to the senior England team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a true blast from the past, a story seldom seen in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, let alone playing in the top division and representing England as well,” Scott stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for me and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
His path in football has not been a typical one.
He spent four and a half 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 mainland so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Instead, he chose to remain on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. To have that slice of childhood back was something I definitely needed.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by returning and playing island football was huge for me. It was perhaps one of the most important factors that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half substitute in their league fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his early progress after an promising start in men’s football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled Scott. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“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 scored a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal 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 against Luton.
Scott made eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
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 City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was selected 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 his country and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Less than three months later, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder endured a challenging first season with the Cherries, waiting until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost several months.
“I had quite a good run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like yet another setback and it was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first half.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, forming a strong understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign just as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to help them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the national 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 keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying the game, getting better day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
