When Alex Scott made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That prediction turned out to be something of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his first call-up to the senior Three Lions team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a proper throwback, a journey seldom told in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, never mind featuring in the top division and playing for the national team too,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
So how did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has not been a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave him an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to remain on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my mates at the weekend because I missed almost four and a half years of doing that. Getting that slice of youth back was something I really needed.
“Building some confidence by returning and playing island football was huge for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial factors that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach commented at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an impressive start in adult football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“It was hectic,” recalled the player. “The first day I joined the youth team, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus Luton.
He made 83 league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
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 nod to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he will represent his country and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Less than 90 days later, he signed for the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder experienced a challenging debut campaign with the club, waiting until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost four months.
“I had quite a good run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like almost another setback and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad year 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 started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, forming a formidable partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in every game to guide them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying football, getting better day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
