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 at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This prediction proved to be something of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his maiden summons to the full England team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the top division and playing for England too,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed completely for me and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Learning in non-league
His football journey has been far from a typical one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they released him. The Cherries gave 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 chose to stay on the island and turn out for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my friends at weekends because I missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. Getting that slice of youth back was a thing I really required.
“Building some self-belief by coming back and playing island football was massive for me. It was probably the most crucial factors that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half replacement in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the team because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his development after an impressive start in men’s football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said the player. “The first day I joined the youth team, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
Within a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus Luton.
He went on to make 83 league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was selected in the league’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for his country and I think he’ll go on to the top of the game,” his former manager, the player’s boss at the club, remarked last year.
Within three months after, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
Scott endured a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“I had quite a good run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“It was almost another obstacle and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, forming a formidable understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started this season equally as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to help them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” the player stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and with luck I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
