Back when Alex Scott made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That statement turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his first summons to the full Three Lions squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the top division and playing for the national team as well,” Scott stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed completely for me and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Learning in the lower tiers
His path in football has not been a conventional one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early every 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 club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Instead, he opted to remain on the island and turn out for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my friends at the weekend because I missed almost four and a half years of that experience. To have that little bit of childhood back was a thing I really needed.
“Building a bit of confidence by coming back and playing local football was huge 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, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an impressive beginning in adult football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.
“It was hectic,” recalled Scott. “The first day I joined the youth team, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
In just 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against Luton.
Scott made 83 league appearances for the club while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – such was his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the division’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he will represent his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Less than 90 days after, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder endured a challenging first season with the club, waiting until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being in and out of the team.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“There was a decent run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“That felt like yet another setback and it was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, forming a strong understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the first team with the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign equally as strongly for his club, featuring in every game to help them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” the player said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, getting better day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
