Back when Alex Scott made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That statement proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his first call-up to the full England team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a true throwback, a journey seldom told in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, let alone playing in the top division and representing England too,” Scott said previously.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
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 youth system starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an option and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he opted to stay on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over every week was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed nearly several years of doing that. To have that little bit of youth again was a thing I definitely required.
“Building a bit of confidence by returning and taking part in island football was huge for me. It was perhaps one of the most important things that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the team because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an impressive start in men’s football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said the player. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to sign a contract.”
Within 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus Luton.
Scott made eighty-three league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being used as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age 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 down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion 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 voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for his country and I think he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at the club, remarked last year.
Less than three months after, he signed for the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder endured a challenging debut campaign with the club, waiting until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was almost another setback and it was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, forming a strong understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign just as impressively for his club, playing in all matches to guide them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” Scott said recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
