Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That statement proved to be something of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his maiden summons to the full Three Lions team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a proper throwback, a story rarely told in the modern game.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, never mind playing in the Premier League and representing the national team as well,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for myself and my family.”
So in what way did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Developing in non-league
His path in football has been far from a conventional one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he chose to remain on the island and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at home with my friends at weekends because I missed almost several years of that experience. To have that slice of youth again was something I really required.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by coming back and playing island football was massive for me. It was probably the most crucial things that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” manager the coach stated 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.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – owned by islander their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an promising start in men’s football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said Scott. “The first day I joined the youth team, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against the Hatters.
Scott went on to make 83 league outings for the club while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – such was his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and England playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he will represent England and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Less than 90 days after, he signed for the Cherries for a understood fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
Scott experienced a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost four months.
“I had a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“It was almost another obstacle and it was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness 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 understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has started this season just as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to guide them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” Scott said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, getting better every day, and with luck I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
