When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This prediction turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his first summons to the senior England squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a proper throwback, a story seldom seen in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, let alone playing in the top division and representing the national team too,” the player stated previously.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for myself and my family.”
But how did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s path in football has not been a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they released him. Bournemouth gave him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose to remain on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed almost several years of doing that. To have that little bit of youth again was a thing I really needed.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by returning and taking part in island football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial things that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 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 sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an impressive start in men’s football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” said Scott. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the next day I was with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal 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 against the Hatters.
Scott went on to make 83 league outings for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’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 sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Less than 90 days later, he signed for the Cherries for a reported fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
Scott endured a challenging debut campaign with the club, waiting until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“There was 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 obstacle and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, developing a formidable partnership in the middle with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign just as impressively for his club, featuring in all matches to help them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” the player stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying the game, getting better day on day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
