When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This prediction proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his maiden summons to the full England team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a proper throwback, a story rarely told in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, let alone playing in the Premier League and representing England too,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have transformed completely for me and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Developing in non-league
His path in football has not been a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his island 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. The Cherries were willing to offer him an option 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 stay on the island and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at home with my mates at the weekend because I missed nearly several years of doing that. To have that slice of childhood back was something I really required.
“Building a bit of confidence by coming back and taking part in local football was massive for me. It was perhaps one of the most important factors that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – owned by islander their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an impressive start in men’s football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” said Scott. “Day one I joined the youth team, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in London, returned home and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. From that point 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 first-team debut versus the Hatters.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league outings for the club while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and national team playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Less than 90 days later, he joined Bournemouth for a understood fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
The midfielder experienced a challenging debut campaign with the club, waiting until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“I had quite a good run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“It was yet another setback and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, forming a strong partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started this season equally as impressively for his club, playing in every game to help them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” Scott said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for football, getting better day on day, and with luck I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
