Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That prediction proved to be something of an underestimation.
Today aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his maiden summons to the senior England team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a proper blast from the past, a journey seldom seen in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, never mind featuring in the top division and playing for England as well,” Scott stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for me and my family.”
But in what way did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Developing in the lower tiers
His football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they released him. The Cherries gave him an option and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to stay on the island and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my mates at the weekend because I missed almost several years of that experience. Getting that slice of childhood again was something I definitely needed.
“Building some confidence by returning and taking part in 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 youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring his early progress after an promising beginning in men’s football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” said the player. “The first day I joined the youth team, the next day I was with the first team, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
In just 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against the Hatters.
He went on to make 83 league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being used as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and national team attacking midfielder 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 team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think 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 the club, stated previously.
Less than 90 days later, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being in and out of the team.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost four months.
“I had quite a good run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and it was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, developing a strong understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign just as impressively for his club, featuring in every game to help them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a player, keep enjoying the game, getting better every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
