Back when Alex Scott made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That prediction turned out to be something of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his maiden summons to the senior England squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely told in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, never mind featuring in the Premier League and representing England too,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for myself and my family.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Developing in non-league
His path in football has been far from a typical one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an option and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to stay on the island and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed nearly several years of doing that. To have that little bit of youth back was something I really needed.
“Building a bit of confidence by coming back and playing island football was massive for me. It was probably one of the most important factors that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking Scott’s development after an impressive start in men’s football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” said Scott. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek 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. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against Luton.
Scott made eighty-three league outings for the club while in his teens, often being used as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – such was his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his ability to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s best young player award, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was named the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for his country and I think he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Within 90 days after, he joined the Cherries for a reported fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
Scott endured a challenging first season with the Cherries, waiting until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost several months.
“There was a decent run at the close 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 selected by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, developing a formidable partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started this season just 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 among the most special moments of my life,” Scott said recently.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, getting better every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
