Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This statement proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his first call-up to the full Three Lions team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a true blast from the past, a story rarely seen in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, let alone featuring in the Premier League and representing England too,” Scott stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s path in football has not been a typical one.
He was part of over four years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at 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 his 13th birthday, though, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Instead, he opted to stay on the island and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my mates at the weekend because I missed almost several years of that experience. To have that slice of youth back was something I definitely needed.
“To gain some confidence by returning and taking part in island football was huge for me. It was perhaps 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 substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” manager the coach commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his development after an promising start in men’s football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled the player. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I featured for his local side in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
Within 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
Scott made eighty-three league outings for the club while in his teens, often being used as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s best young player award, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he will represent England and I think he’ll go on to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Within three months later, he joined the Cherries for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
Scott endured a difficult first season with the club, having to wait until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost several months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“It was almost another obstacle and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then selected 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 claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, forming a formidable partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign equally as impressively for his club, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, improving every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
