Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This prediction turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his first summons to the full England squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a proper throwback, a journey seldom told in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, let alone featuring in the Premier League and representing the national team too,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have changed completely for me and my family.”
But how did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has not been a conventional one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they released him. Bournemouth gave Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to remain on the island and turn out for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to chill at home with my mates at the weekend because I missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. Getting that little bit of youth again was a thing I really needed.
“Building a bit of confidence by returning and taking part in island football was huge for me. It was perhaps one of the most important things that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” manager the coach stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an impressive beginning in men’s football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“It was hectic,” said the player. “The first day I joined the youth team, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a contract.”
Within a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against the Hatters.
He made eighty-three league outings for the club while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to 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 selected in the division’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I think he will represent England and I think he will progress to the top of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Within three months later, he joined Bournemouth for a understood fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
Scott experienced a challenging first season with the club, having to wait until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being in and out of the team.
His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“There was a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was almost another setback and it was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, developing a formidable partnership in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team under the national coach.
And he has started this season equally as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to guide them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” the player said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a player, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
