When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That statement proved 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 summons to the senior England team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a true blast from the past, a journey rarely told in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, let alone playing in the top division and playing for England as well,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has been far from a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he chose to stay on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my mates at weekends because I missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. To have that little bit of childhood again was something I definitely required.
“Building some self-belief by coming back and taking part in island football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial things that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking Scott’s development after an impressive start in men’s football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled the player. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the second day I was with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
In just 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the club while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – such was his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and national team playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s best young player honour, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at the club, stated previously.
Within three months later, he joined Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
Scott experienced a difficult first season with the Cherries, waiting until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost four months.
“I had quite a good run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“It was yet another setback and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, developing a formidable partnership in midfield with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has started this season just as strongly for his club, featuring in all matches to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” Scott said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a player, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and with luck I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
