When Alex Scott made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This prediction turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his maiden summons to the full Three Lions squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a proper blast from the past, a story seldom seen in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, never mind playing in the Premier League and representing the national team as well,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
So how did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?
Learning in non-league
His path in football has not been a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, leaving school early each Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, though, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer him an option and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he opted to remain on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over every week was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my friends at weekends because I had missed almost several years of doing that. To have that slice of childhood back was a thing I definitely required.
“Building some self-belief by returning and taking part in island football was massive for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial factors that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” manager the coach stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an impressive start in adult football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“It was hectic,” said the player. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
Within a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against Luton.
Scott went on to make 83 league outings for the club while in his teens, often being used as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’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 think he will represent England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Within three months later, he joined Bournemouth for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
The midfielder endured a challenging first season with the Cherries, waiting until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost several months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, forming a strong partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started this season equally as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in every game to guide them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” Scott said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a player, keep enjoying the game, improving day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
