Back when Alex Scott made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This statement turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his maiden call-up to the full Three Lions team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a proper throwback, a journey rarely seen in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the top division and playing for England too,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for myself and my family.”
But how did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
His path in football 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 travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he chose to stay on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my mates at the weekend because I missed almost several years of doing that. Getting that slice of youth again was something I definitely required.
“Building some confidence by coming back and playing local football was huge for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important things that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott became the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his development after an impressive start in adult football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.
“It was hectic,” said Scott. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against the Hatters.
He went on to make 83 league outings for the club while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he will represent England and I think he will progress to the top of the game,” his former manager, the player’s boss at the club, stated previously.
Within three months after, he joined the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
Scott endured 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 being in and out of the team.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost four months.
“There was a decent run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, forming a formidable understanding in the middle with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the first team with the national coach.
And he has begun this season just as strongly for Bournemouth, playing 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 life,” the player stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, getting better every day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
