Back when Alex Scott made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That statement proved to be something of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his maiden summons to the full England squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely told in the modern game.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, never mind playing in the Premier League and playing for the national team as well,” Scott stated previously.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for me and my family.”
So how did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?
Developing in non-league
His football journey has been far from a typical one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to stay on Guernsey and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed almost four and a half years of doing that. To have that little bit of childhood again was something I definitely required.
“To gain a bit of confidence by returning and taking part in local football was massive for me. It was perhaps the most crucial things that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their league match at the opposition.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an impressive start in adult football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled Scott. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for his local side in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
In just 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus Luton.
Scott made eighty-three league appearances for the club while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
Thanks to 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 reference to City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s best young player award, was selected in the division’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at the club, remarked last year.
Within 90 days after, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
The midfielder endured a challenging first season with the club, having to wait until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost four months.
“There was a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was almost another obstacle and it was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, forming a strong understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to help them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” the player stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, improving every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
