Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That statement turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his maiden call-up to the senior Three Lions squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a proper blast from the past, a story rarely seen in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, never mind playing in the top division and representing England as well,” Scott stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed completely for me and my loved ones.”
But how did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s path in football has not been a conventional one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to remain on the island and turn out for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my friends at weekends because I missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. Getting that little bit of youth back was something I really required.
“Building some self-belief by coming back and taking part in local football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important things that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half substitute in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s development after an impressive start in men’s football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said Scott. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I played for his local side in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
In just a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against the Hatters.
Scott made 83 league appearances for the club while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was named the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he will represent his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the game,” his former manager, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Less than 90 days after, he signed for the Cherries for a understood fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
Scott experienced a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait 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 knee operation which sidelined him for almost four months.
“There was a decent run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured 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 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 competition in Slovakia, developing a strong understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign equally as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to help them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special moments of my career,” the player said recently.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a player, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and with luck I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
