Back when Alex Scott made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That prediction proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his first call-up to the full England squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a proper throwback, a journey seldom told in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, let alone playing in the Premier League and representing England too,” Scott stated previously.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for me and my family.”
So how did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Learning in the lower tiers
His path in football has been far from a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and play for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he opted to remain on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my mates at weekends because I missed almost four and a half years of doing that. Getting that little bit of childhood back was a thing I really required.
“To gain some self-belief by coming back and playing local football was massive for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial things that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an promising start in men’s football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said Scott. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the next day I was with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against Luton.
He made 83 league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was named the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for England and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s boss at the club, remarked last year.
Less than 90 days after, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
Scott endured a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to earn his top-flight 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 surgery which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“I had a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was almost another obstacle and it was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, forming a strong partnership in midfield with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign just as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to help them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” the player said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, getting better day on day, and with luck I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
