When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This prediction proved to be something of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his maiden call-up to the full Three Lions squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a true throwback, a journey rarely seen in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, never mind playing in the top division and representing the national team too,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Developing in non-league
His path in football has not been a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s 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 Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he opted to stay on the island and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my mates at weekends because I missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. Getting that slice of youth back was something I definitely required.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by coming back and taking part in island football was huge for me. It was probably one of the most important things that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their 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 back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – chaired by islander their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an impressive start in men’s football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said Scott. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus the Hatters.
He went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for England and I think he will progress to the top of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Within 90 days after, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
Scott endured a challenging first season with the Cherries, having to wait 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 disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost four months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, developing a strong understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.
And he has begun this season just as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to help them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special moments of my life,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying football, improving every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
