When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This prediction turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his maiden call-up to the full Three Lions team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a proper throwback, a story rarely seen in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, let alone playing in the Premier League and representing the national team too,” Scott stated previously.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have changed drastically for myself and my family.”
So how did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s path in football has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, leaving school early each Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they released him. The Cherries gave Scott an option and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he opted to stay on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at home with my mates at weekends because I missed almost several years of doing that. Getting that little bit of youth again was something I definitely required.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by coming back and playing island football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial factors that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their league fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – chaired by islander their owner – had been tracking his development after an impressive start in adult football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” recalled Scott. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
Within a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against the Hatters.
He went on to make 83 league appearances for the club while in his teens, often being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and national team playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for England and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at the club, stated previously.
Within 90 days later, he joined Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder endured a challenging first season with the club, waiting until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost several months.
“I had a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and it was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, developing a formidable understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to help them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my life,” Scott said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
