When Alex Scott made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This prediction turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his maiden summons to the senior England squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a true blast from the past, a story rarely seen in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, let alone playing in the Premier League and representing England too,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for myself and my family.”
But how did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Learning in the lower tiers
His path in football has not been a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he chose to remain on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my friends at weekends because I had missed nearly several years of doing that. To have that slice of youth back was a thing I really needed.
“To gain a bit of confidence by returning and playing island football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important factors that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” manager the coach stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an impressive start in men’s football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” recalled Scott. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in London, travelled back and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
Within 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against Luton.
Scott made eighty-three league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and England playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s best young player honour, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he will represent his country and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Within three months later, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
The midfielder experienced a challenging first season with the club, having to wait until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly several months.
“I had a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like almost another setback and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, developing a formidable understanding in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign just as strongly for his club, featuring in every game to help them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special moments of my life,” the player said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, improving every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
