Back when Alex Scott made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This prediction proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his first summons to the senior England squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a true blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the top division and representing the national team too,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have changed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
So how did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Learning in non-league
His football journey has not been a typical one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave him an opportunity 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 stay on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at 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 needed.
“Building some confidence by returning and playing island football was huge for me. It was perhaps the most crucial factors that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, Scott made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his early progress after an promising beginning in men’s football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” recalled Scott. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I played for his local side in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
Within a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus Luton.
Scott made eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, often being used as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his ability to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s best young player award, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for his country and I think he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Within three months after, he joined Bournemouth for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
Scott experienced a challenging debut campaign with the club, having to wait until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“It was almost another obstacle and it was shaping up as quite a terrible 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 England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, developing a formidable understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season just as impressively for his club, playing in all matches to guide them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my career,” Scott stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying the game, getting better every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
