When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This statement turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his first summons to the full Three Lions squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a true blast from the past, a story rarely seen in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the top division and playing for the national team as well,” Scott stated previously.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for me and my family.”
So in what way did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has not been a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to fly from his 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, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave him an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to remain on the island and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my mates at the weekend because I missed almost several years of doing that. To have that slice of youth back was something I definitely required.
“Building some self-belief by returning and taking part in local football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important factors that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an promising start in men’s football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said Scott. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for his local side in London, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
Within a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against the Hatters.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the club while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and versatility. 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 ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and England playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season award, was selected in the league’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at the club, stated last year.
Within 90 days after, he signed for the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the club, waiting until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly several months.
“I had a decent run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“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 the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, developing a strong partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign equally as strongly for his club, featuring in all matches to help them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” the player stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
