When Alex Scott made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That prediction turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his first summons to the full England squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a true blast from the past, a story rarely told in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, never mind playing in the Premier League and playing for the national team as well,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
So how did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, however, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Instead, he opted to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my mates at the weekend because I missed almost several years of that experience. Getting that little bit of childhood again was a thing I definitely required.
“Building some self-belief by coming back and taking part in island football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial things that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half substitute in their league match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his development after an impressive start in adult football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said the player. “Day one I joined the youth team, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a contract.”
Within 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus Luton.
Scott went on to make 83 league appearances for the club while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he will represent his country and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Less than 90 days after, he signed for the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
The midfielder experienced a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being in and out of the team.
His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“I had quite a good run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“It was yet another setback and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, forming a formidable partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign equally as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in every game to help them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” the player said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, getting better day on day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
