When Alex Scott made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That statement turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his first call-up to the senior England squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a true blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, let alone playing in the Premier League and playing for the national team too,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for myself and my family.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
His football journey has been far from a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave 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 Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over every week was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my friends at weekends because I had missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. Getting that little bit of childhood back was something I really required.
“To gain some self-belief by coming back and playing local football was massive for me. It was probably the most crucial things that led me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half replacement in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking Scott’s development after an impressive start in adult football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” said the player. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the second day I was with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against Luton.
He went on to make eighty-three league outings for the club while still a teenager, often being used as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s best young player honour, 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 game,” his former manager, the player’s boss at the club, stated last year.
Less than 90 days later, he joined Bournemouth for a reported fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
The midfielder endured a challenging debut campaign with the club, having to wait until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“I had a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“That felt like almost another setback and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, developing a strong partnership in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in every game to guide them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, getting better every day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
