Back when Alex Scott made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This prediction turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his first call-up to the senior Three Lions team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a proper blast from the past, a journey seldom told in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the Premier League and playing for England as well,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Developing in non-league
His path in football has been far from a typical one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they released him. The Cherries gave Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he chose to remain on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my mates at the weekend because I missed almost several years of that experience. Getting that little bit of youth back was something I definitely required.
“To gain a bit of 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 things that led me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their 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 his talent is obvious,” manager the coach stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by islander their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an impressive start in adult football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“It was hectic,” said the player. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus the Hatters.
Scott made eighty-three league appearances for the club while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s best young player honour, was selected in the division’s best XI and was named Bristol City’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,” his former manager, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Within three months after, he joined Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
The midfielder endured a difficult first season with the club, waiting until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.
His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost four months.
“I had quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“It was yet another obstacle and it was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, forming a strong partnership in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started this season equally as strongly for his club, featuring in every game to guide them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” the player said recently.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, getting better every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
