When Alex Scott made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This prediction turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his first summons to the senior England squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a true throwback, a journey rarely seen in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, let alone playing in the Premier League and playing for England too,” Scott stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for me and my family.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Developing in the lower tiers
His football journey has been far from a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they released him. Bournemouth gave him an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose to remain on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my mates at weekends because I had missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. Getting that slice of youth back was something I really required.
“Building a bit of self-belief by coming back and playing island football was massive for me. It was probably the most crucial things that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side 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 carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his development after an promising start in adult football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” said Scott. “The first day I joined the youth team, the second day I was with the first team, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
Within 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus Luton.
Scott went on to make 83 league appearances for the club while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he’ll play for England and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s boss at the club, stated last year.
Within 90 days later, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder experienced a difficult first season with the club, waiting until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being in and out of the team.
His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly several months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“It was almost another obstacle and it was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by the national team 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, forming a formidable partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign equally as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to help them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” the player stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, maintain my love for football, getting better every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
