When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This prediction turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his maiden summons to the full England team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a proper blast from the past, a story rarely seen 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 top division and representing the national team too,” the player stated previously.
“It has been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s football journey has not been a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave him an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he chose to stay on the island and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my mates at weekends because I missed nearly several years of doing that. Getting that little bit of youth again was something I really required.
“Building a bit of confidence by coming back and taking part in island football was huge for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial factors that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their league match at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach commented at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an impressive start in adult football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” said Scott. “The first day I joined the youth team, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
In just a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus Luton.
He made 83 league outings for the club while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position 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 earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was selected in the division’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he will represent his country and I think he will progress to the top of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Less than three months after, he signed for the Cherries for a understood fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
Scott endured a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“There was a decent run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like yet another setback and the year was turning out to be 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 get himself fit in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a strong partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season equally as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to help them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” the player said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, getting better every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
