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 predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That prediction turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his maiden call-up to the full Three Lions squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a true blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, let alone featuring in the top division and representing England too,” the player said previously.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed completely for myself and my family.”
So how did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Learning in non-league
His path in football has been far from a conventional one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they released him. The Cherries gave Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over every week was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my friends at the weekend because I missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. To have that slice of youth again was something I really required.
“Building a bit of self-belief by coming back and taking part in local football was huge for me. It was probably one of the most important things that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an promising start in men’s football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” recalled the player. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the second day I was with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I played for his local side in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
In just 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against Luton.
Scott made 83 league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, often being used as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
With his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for England and I think he will progress to the top of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at the club, remarked previously.
Within 90 days later, he signed for the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
Scott experienced a difficult debut campaign with the club, having to wait until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly several 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.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, developing a strong understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign just as strongly for his club, featuring in every game to help them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” the player stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a player, maintain my love for football, improving day on day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
