Back when Alex Scott made his local team debut against 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.
Today aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his first call-up to the senior England team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a true throwback, a journey rarely seen in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, let alone playing in the top division and representing England too,” Scott stated previously.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have transformed completely for myself and my family.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they released him. 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 was not in it.
Rather, he chose to stay on the island and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and flying over every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at home with my mates at weekends because I missed almost four and a half years of that experience. Getting that slice of youth again was something I definitely required.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by returning and playing island football was huge for me. It was perhaps the most crucial things that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his early progress after an promising beginning in adult football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said Scott. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I played for his local side in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
Within 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against the Hatters.
He made eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being used as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s best young player honour, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, the player’s manager at the club, stated last year.
Within three months later, he joined the Cherries for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the club, having to wait until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem 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 almost several months.
“I had a decent run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, forming a strong understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign equally as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to help them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” the player stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a player, keep enjoying football, getting better day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
