When Alex Scott made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This statement turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Today aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his first call-up to the senior Three Lions squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a proper blast from the past, a journey seldom seen in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, let alone playing in the top division and playing for England as well,” the player 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 loved ones.”
But how did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s football journey has not been a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave Scott an option and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to remain on the island and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at home with my mates at weekends because I missed almost several years of that experience. Getting that slice of childhood back was a thing I definitely needed.
“Building some self-belief by coming back and playing local football was massive for me. It was probably the most crucial factors that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring his early progress after an promising start in men’s football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“It was hectic,” recalled the player. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
In just a year and a half, still 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 occasionally in attack as a number 10 – such was his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he will represent his country and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Within three months after, he joined the Cherries for a reported fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder experienced a difficult debut campaign with the club, waiting 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 following season was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“There was a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“That felt like yet another setback and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, forming a strong understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has begun this season just as strongly for his club, playing in every game to help them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my life,” the player stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, getting better every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
