When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus 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 youngster.”
This prediction proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his first call-up to the full England team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a true throwback, a journey seldom seen in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the top division and playing for England as well,” Scott said previously.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for myself and my family.”
But how did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s football journey has been far from a typical one.
He was part of over four years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, 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 wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he opted to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed almost four and a half years of doing that. To have that little bit of childhood again was something I really required.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by returning and playing local football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important factors that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – chaired by islander their owner – had been tracking Scott’s development after an promising start in adult football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled the player. “The first day I joined the youth team, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I played for his local side in London, returned home and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against Luton.
Scott went on to make 83 league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he will represent England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Less than 90 days later, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
Scott experienced a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was yet another setback and it was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first half.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, forming a formidable partnership in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign equally as impressively for his club, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, improving day on day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
