Back when Alex Scott made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This prediction proved to be something of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his first summons to the full Three Lions squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a true blast from the past, a story seldom seen in the modern game.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, let alone playing in the Premier League and representing England as well,” Scott said previously.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have changed completely for me and my family.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has not been a conventional one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they released him. The Cherries gave him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to stay on the island and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed almost four and a half years of that experience. Getting that little bit of childhood back was a thing I really required.
“To gain a bit of confidence by returning and taking part in island football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important factors that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their league match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession 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 islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his development after an promising beginning in adult football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” recalled the player. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus Luton.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being used as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – such was his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
With his ability to drive 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 Manchester City and England playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he will represent England and I think he will progress to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at the club, stated previously.
Within three months later, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
Scott experienced a challenging first season with the club, having to wait until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost four months.
“There was a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“It was yet another obstacle and it was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, developing a formidable understanding in the middle with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started this season equally as strongly for his club, playing in all matches to guide them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” Scott said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying football, getting better every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
