Back when Alex Scott made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This prediction turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his maiden call-up to the senior England squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely told in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the top division and representing the national team too,” Scott stated previously.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have transformed completely for me and my loved ones.”
But how did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to stay on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed almost several years of that experience. Getting that little bit of childhood again was something I definitely required.
“Building some self-belief by coming back and playing island football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important things that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian 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,” manager the coach commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – owned by islander their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an impressive beginning in adult football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” said the player. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
In just a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus the Hatters.
He made eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, often being used as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season award, was selected in the division’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’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at the club, stated previously.
Less than 90 days later, he signed for the Cherries for a understood fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
Scott endured a difficult first season with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being in and out of the team.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost four months.
“I had quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was yet another setback and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible start 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 for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, forming a formidable understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign just as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to help them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” the player said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, getting better day on day, and with luck I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
