Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That statement turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his maiden summons to the senior England squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, never mind featuring in the top division and playing for the national team as well,” the player stated previously.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
So how did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he chose to stay 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 the weekend because I missed almost several years of that experience. Getting that little bit of childhood again was a thing I definitely needed.
“Building some confidence by returning and taking part in local football was huge for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial factors that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” manager the coach stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by islander their owner – had been monitoring his development after an impressive start in adult football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“It was hectic,” said the player. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to sign a contract.”
In just a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against Luton.
He went on to make 83 league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, often being used as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he will represent England and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at the club, remarked previously.
Less than three months later, he joined the Cherries for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
Scott endured a challenging first season with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost four months.
“I had a decent run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“It was almost another obstacle and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, developing a formidable understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.
And he has begun this season equally as strongly for his club, featuring in every game to help them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” Scott said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for football, getting better day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
