When Alex Scott made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before 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 aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his first summons to the senior England squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a proper throwback, a journey seldom seen in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, let alone playing in the Premier League and playing for England as well,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for me and my family.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
His path in football has not been a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training 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 remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he opted to stay on the island and turn out for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at home with my mates at the weekend because I missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. Getting that slice of youth again was a thing I definitely required.
“To gain a bit of confidence by coming back and taking part in local football was massive for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important things that led me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having 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 at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by islander their owner – had been tracking Scott’s development after an promising beginning in men’s football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said the player. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
Within a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against the Hatters.
He went on to make eighty-three league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, often being used as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the league’s best XI and was named the club’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he will represent England and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Within three months later, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
Scott experienced a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“I had quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was almost another setback and it was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, forming a strong understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign just as impressively for his club, playing in every game to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” the player said recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, improving every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
