Back when Alex Scott made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That prediction proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his maiden call-up to the full Three Lions team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a true throwback, a story rarely seen in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, never mind playing in the top division and representing the national team as well,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for me and my family.”
But how did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Developing in non-league
His path in football has not been a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they released him. Bournemouth gave him an option and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he opted to stay on the island and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my friends at weekends because I missed almost several years of doing that. To have that slice of childhood back was something I definitely needed.
“Building a bit of confidence by returning and playing local football was huge for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial factors that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an impressive beginning in men’s football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled Scott. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the second day I was with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against the Hatters.
Scott made eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was selected in the division’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he will represent England and I think he will progress to the top of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Less than three months later, he joined Bournemouth for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost four months.
“I had a decent run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“It was almost another setback and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, forming a strong understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign equally as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to guide them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special moments of my life,” Scott said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, getting better every day, and with luck I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
