Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against 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 statement proved to be something of an underestimation.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his first call-up to the senior Three Lions squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a true throwback, a journey rarely told in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the top division and representing England as well,” the player stated previously.
“It has been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for me and my family.”
So how did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has been far from a typical one.
He was part of over four years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to stay on the island and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed nearly several years of doing that. Getting that slice of youth again was something I definitely needed.
“To gain some confidence by returning and taking part in island football was massive for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important things that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen 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
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by islander their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an impressive beginning in men’s football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said Scott. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. 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 making his senior debut against the Hatters.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and England playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’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 believe he’ll play for England and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Less than 90 days after, he joined the Cherries for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
Scott experienced a challenging first season with the club, having to wait until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and it was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, forming a strong understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has started this season equally as impressively for his club, playing in every game to help them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a player, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and with luck I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
