When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That statement proved to be something of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his first call-up to the senior Three Lions squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a true blast from the past, a story seldom told in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, let alone playing in the Premier League and playing for England too,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Learning in the lower tiers
His football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they released him. Bournemouth gave Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Instead, he chose to remain on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my mates at weekends because I had missed almost four and a half years of doing that. Getting that slice of youth again was something I definitely required.
“To gain some confidence by returning and playing 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, the teenager made history as 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’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s development after an promising start in men’s football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled Scott. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a contract.”
In just a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against the Hatters.
He made 83 league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he’ll play for England and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at the club, stated last year.
Within 90 days later, he joined Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
Scott experienced a challenging first season with the club, having to wait until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost several months.
“I had a decent run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was almost another setback and it was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by the national team 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 claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, developing a strong understanding in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign just as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to help them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, improving every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
