Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This statement turned out to be something of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his maiden summons to the senior England squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a true throwback, a journey seldom told in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, never mind playing in the Premier League and representing England as well,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for me and my family.”
But how did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Developing in the lower tiers
His football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they released him. The Cherries gave Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Instead, he chose to stay on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my friends at weekends because I missed almost several years of that experience. Getting that little bit of childhood back was something I definitely needed.
“Building some self-belief by returning and taking part in local football was massive for me. It was probably the most crucial factors that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring his early progress after an promising start in men’s football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said Scott. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
In just a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus Luton.
He made eighty-three league appearances for the club while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for England and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at the club, remarked previously.
Within 90 days after, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
Scott experienced a challenging first season with the club, waiting until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“I had a decent run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“It was yet another obstacle and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England 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 tournament in Slovakia, forming a formidable understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started this season equally as strongly for his club, playing in all matches to help them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” Scott stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying the game, getting better every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
