Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That statement proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his maiden summons to the senior Three Lions squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a proper throwback, a journey seldom told in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, let alone featuring in the top division and representing England too,” Scott said previously.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have changed drastically for myself and my family.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s football journey has not been a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to 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 wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose to stay on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed nearly several years of that experience. To have that slice of childhood back was a thing I really required.
“To gain some self-belief by coming back and taking part in island football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important factors that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking his early progress after an impressive start in men’s football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled Scott. “The first day I joined the youth team, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in London, returned home 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 sign a deal.”
In just 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus Luton.
Scott made eighty-three league outings for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he will represent England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Less than 90 days after, he joined Bournemouth for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
The midfielder endured a challenging first season with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost several months.
“There was a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was yet another obstacle and it was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, developing a strong partnership in midfield with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the first team under the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to help them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” Scott stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for the game, improving day on day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
