Back when Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That prediction turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his first call-up to the full Three Lions squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a true throwback, a story rarely told in the modern game.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, let alone playing in the Premier League and representing the national team as well,” Scott said previously.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
So how did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, though, 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.
Rather, he opted to stay on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. To have that slice of childhood back was a thing I definitely needed.
“To gain a bit of confidence by returning and taking part in local football was massive for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important things that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” manager the coach stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his early progress after an impressive start in men’s football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled the player. “Day one I joined the youth team, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I featured for his local side in London, returned home and by Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
Within 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, often being used as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s best young player honour, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for his country and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Less than three months after, he joined Bournemouth for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
Scott experienced a challenging debut campaign with the club, waiting until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like yet another setback and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad start 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 tournament in Slovakia, forming a formidable understanding in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign equally as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to guide them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” the player said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, getting better every day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
