When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This statement proved to be something of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his first summons to the full Three Lions team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a proper blast from the past, a story seldom told in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, never mind playing in the top division and representing the national team as well,” the player said previously.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for me and my family.”
But how did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has been far from a typical one.
He was part of over four years in the Saints’ academy setup 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.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he chose to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over every week was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed nearly several years of doing that. To have that slice of childhood again was something I definitely required.
“To gain a bit of confidence by returning and playing local football was huge for me. It was probably the most crucial things that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, 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 his early progress after an impressive beginning in adult football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said the player. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
In just a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against Luton.
Scott went on to make 83 league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Less than three months later, he joined Bournemouth for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
Scott experienced a difficult first season with the club, waiting until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“There was a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and it was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, developing a formidable understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign just as strongly for his club, featuring in all matches to guide them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” the player stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, improving day on day, and with luck I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
