Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This prediction turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his first summons to the full England team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, let alone playing in the top division and representing England too,” the player said previously.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed completely for myself and my family.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Developing in non-league
His football journey has been far from a typical one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to remain on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my friends at weekends because I missed almost several years of doing that. To have that slice of youth back was a thing I really needed.
“Building some confidence by coming back and playing island football was huge for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial things that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their league match at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the team because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his early progress after an promising start in men’s football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” recalled Scott. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in London, returned home 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 deal.”
Within 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against Luton.
He went on to make 83 league appearances for the club while in his teens, frequently being used as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and national team playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s best young player honour, was selected in the league’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, Scott’s manager at the club, stated last year.
Within three months later, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
The midfielder experienced a difficult debut campaign with the club, having to wait until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“I had a decent run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was almost another obstacle and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, developing a formidable partnership in the middle with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign just as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in every game to guide them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” Scott said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying the game, improving every day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
