When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This statement turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his first summons to the senior England team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a true blast from the past, a story seldom told in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the Premier League and playing for England as well,” the player stated previously.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for me and my loved ones.”
But how did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has not been a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an option and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind 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 becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my friends at weekends because I missed almost four and a half years of that experience. Getting that slice of youth back was a thing I definitely required.
“To gain a bit of confidence by returning and playing island football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial factors that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian 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,” manager the coach commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – owned by islander their owner – had been tracking his development after an impressive beginning in adult football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” recalled Scott. “Day one I joined the youth team, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against the Hatters.
He went on to make eighty-three league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
With his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the league’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he’ll play for England and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at the club, remarked previously.
Less than 90 days later, he joined Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder experienced a difficult first season with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.
His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“That felt like yet another setback and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a strong partnership in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.
And he has begun this season just as strongly for his club, featuring in all matches to help them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my life,” the player said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, keep enjoying the game, improving day on day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
