When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That prediction turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his first call-up to the senior England squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a true throwback, a journey seldom seen in the modern game.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the top division and playing for the national team as well,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has not been a typical one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to remain on the island and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my friends at the weekend because I missed almost several years of that experience. To have that slice of childhood again was a thing I definitely required.
“To gain a bit of confidence by returning and taking part in local football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important factors that led me to this point.”
When he was just 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 had trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking his development after an impressive beginning in men’s football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled the player. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I featured for his local side in London, travelled back 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.”
In just a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus Luton.
He made eighty-three league outings for the club while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and England playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he’ll play for his country and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Less than three months after, he signed for the Cherries for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
Scott endured a difficult first season with the club, waiting until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“There was a decent run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“That felt like almost another setback and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a strong partnership in the middle with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign just as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in every game to help them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” Scott stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, improving every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
