When Alex Scott made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This prediction proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his first call-up to the full Three Lions squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a proper blast from the past, a story seldom told in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the top division and playing for England as well,” Scott said previously.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for me and my family.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s football journey has been far from a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, though, they released him. The Cherries gave him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he opted to remain on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over every week was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my friends at weekends because I missed nearly several years of doing that. Getting that little bit of youth again was a thing I definitely needed.
“Building a bit of confidence by coming back and playing local football was huge for me. It was perhaps the most crucial factors that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half replacement in their league match at the opposition.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his development after an impressive beginning in men’s football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” recalled the player. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against Luton.
He made 83 league appearances for the club while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Less than 90 days after, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder endured a challenging debut campaign with the club, having to wait until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“I had quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and it was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, developing a strong understanding in the middle with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has begun this season equally as impressively for his club, playing in every game to guide them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” the player stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for the game, getting better every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
