When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That statement proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his maiden call-up to the full Three Lions squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a true blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, let alone featuring in the top division and playing for the national team too,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
But how did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s path in football has been far from a conventional one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose to remain on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over every week was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my friends at the weekend because I missed almost four and a half years of that experience. To have that little bit of youth again was a thing I really required.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by returning and taking part in local football was huge for me. It was perhaps one of the most important factors that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated at the time.
“People have witnessed 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 pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking his development after an impressive start in men’s football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” said the player. “Day one I joined the youth team, the next day I was with the first team, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a contract.”
In just 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against the Hatters.
Scott went on to make 83 league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, often being used as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
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 Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s best young player award, was selected in the league’s best XI and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he will represent his country and I think he’ll go on to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at the club, remarked previously.
Within 90 days later, he signed for the Cherries for a reported fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
Scott experienced a difficult debut campaign with the club, waiting until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly 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.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, forming a strong partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the first team with the national coach.
And he has begun this season equally as strongly for his club, featuring in all matches to help them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” the player said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying football, improving day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
