Back when Alex Scott made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That prediction turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his maiden summons to the full England squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a true blast from the past, a story seldom seen in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, let alone playing in the Premier League and playing for England as well,” the player stated previously.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have changed completely for myself and my family.”
So how did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has not been a typical one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, leaving school early each Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer him an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he chose to remain on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my friends at weekends because I missed nearly several years of doing that. Getting that slice of youth back was a thing I really needed.
“To gain some self-belief by coming back and playing island football was huge for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important things that led me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” manager the coach stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an impressive start in men’s football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said Scott. “Day one I joined the youth team, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a contract.”
Within a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus the Hatters.
Scott made 83 league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he will represent his country and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Less than three months after, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder endured a challenging first season with the club, having to wait until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out 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,” explained Scott.
“That felt like yet another setback 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 Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, forming a formidable partnership in the middle 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 Bournemouth, featuring in every game to help them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my career,” the player said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a player, keep enjoying the game, getting better every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
