When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That prediction proved to be something of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his first summons to the full Three Lions team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a true blast from the past, a story rarely told in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, let alone playing in the Premier League and representing the national team too,” the player stated previously.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for myself and my family.”
But how did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
His path in football has not been a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before he turned 13, though, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer him an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose to stay on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my mates at weekends because I missed nearly several years of that experience. Getting that slice of youth again was something I really needed.
“Building a bit of confidence by coming back and playing local football was massive for me. It was perhaps one of the most important things that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach stated at the time.
“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 pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his early progress after an impressive beginning in men’s football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said the player. “Day one I joined the youth team, the next day I was with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus the Hatters.
Scott made 83 league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s best young player award, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at the club, stated previously.
Within 90 days later, he joined the Cherries for a understood fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the club, having to wait until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost several months.
“There was a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and it was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, forming a formidable partnership in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign just as impressively for his club, playing in every game to guide them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a player, keep enjoying football, getting better day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
