Back when Alex Scott made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This statement turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Today aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his first call-up to the full Three Lions team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a proper blast from the past, a journey seldom seen in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, let alone playing in the Premier League and representing England too,” the player said previously.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have changed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
So how did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early each Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they released him. Bournemouth gave him an option and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose to remain on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my friends at weekends because I had missed almost several years of that experience. To have that slice of youth again was a thing I really required.
“Building a bit of self-belief by returning and taking part in local football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps 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 57th-minute replacement in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by islander their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an impressive beginning in men’s football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” recalled the player. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I was with the first team, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for his local side in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against the Hatters.
Scott made 83 league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, often being used as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he will represent his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Less than three months later, he joined Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder experienced a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“I had a decent run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“It was yet another obstacle and it was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, developing a strong understanding in midfield with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started this season just as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in every game to help them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” the player stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, improving every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
