Back when Alex Scott made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This prediction turned out to be something of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his maiden summons to the full England team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, never mind featuring in the top division and representing the national team as well,” the player stated previously.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
So how did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
His path in football has been far from a conventional 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 he turned 13, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he opted to stay on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my mates at weekends because I had missed nearly several years of that experience. Getting that little bit of youth back was a thing I really needed.
“To gain a bit of confidence by returning and playing local football was huge for me. It was perhaps the most crucial things that led me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s development after an promising beginning in men’s football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said Scott. “The first day I joined the youth team, the second day I was with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
In just a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
Scott went on to make 83 league appearances for the club while in his teens, often being used as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and national team playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the division’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he will represent his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Within 90 days after, he joined Bournemouth for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder experienced a difficult first season with the club, having to wait until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost several months.
“There was a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, developing a strong understanding in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has begun this season equally as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to help them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my career,” the player stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, maintain my love for football, improving day on day, and with luck I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
