When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This statement turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his first call-up to the full Three Lions team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a true blast from the past, a journey seldom told in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, never mind featuring in the Premier League and playing for the national team as well,” Scott stated previously.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for me and my family.”
But how did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Developing in non-league
His football journey has been far from a typical one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and play for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer him an option and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he chose to remain on the island and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my friends at the weekend because I missed almost four and a half years of doing that. Getting that slice of childhood back was something I really required.
“To gain some confidence by returning and playing island football was massive for me. It was probably the most crucial things that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an promising beginning in adult football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said the player. “The first day I joined the youth team, the second day I was with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus the Hatters.
He made 83 league appearances for the club while in his teens, frequently being used as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s best young player honour, was chosen in the division’s best XI 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 top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at the club, remarked last year.
Less than 90 days later, he signed for the Cherries for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
Scott experienced 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 team.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost four months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like almost another setback and it 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 get himself fit in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, developing a formidable partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team under the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign just as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to help them to fifth in the standings.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” Scott stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a player, maintain my love for football, getting better day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
