When Alex Scott made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That statement turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his maiden call-up to the senior Three Lions squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a true blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, never mind playing in the Premier League and playing for England too,” the player stated previously.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s football journey has not been a typical one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his 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 released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer him 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 play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my friends at the weekend because I missed nearly several years of doing that. Getting that little bit of youth back was a thing I definitely needed.
“To gain a bit of confidence by coming back and taking part in local football was massive for me. It was perhaps one of the most important factors that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their league fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring his development after an promising start in men’s football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said Scott. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
Scott went on to make 83 league appearances for the club while in his teens, frequently being used as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and England 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 league’s team of the year and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I think he will represent England and I think he will progress to the top of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Within 90 days later, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
Scott experienced a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost several months.
“I had quite a good run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and it was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, developing a strong understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season equally as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” Scott said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, getting better every day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
