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, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This statement turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his maiden call-up to the full Three Lions squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a proper throwback, a story seldom told in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, never mind featuring in the Premier League and representing the national team as well,” the player stated previously.
“It has been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have changed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
His football journey has not been a typical one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early each Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they released him. The Cherries gave him an option and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he opted to stay on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at home with my friends at the weekend because I missed almost four and a half years of doing that. Getting that slice of youth again was a thing I really required.
“To gain a bit of confidence by returning and taking part in island football was massive for me. It was perhaps one of the most important things that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” manager the coach stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by islander their owner – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an impressive beginning in men’s football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” said the player. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
Within a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against Luton.
He went on to make eighty-three league outings for the club while in his teens, often being used as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s best young player honour, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I think he will represent England and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Less than 90 days after, he joined Bournemouth for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
The midfielder experienced a challenging first season with the club, waiting until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost several months.
“I had a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“It was almost another obstacle and it was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a strong understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the first team with the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign just as strongly for his club, playing in every game to guide them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” the player stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying football, improving day on day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
