When Alex Scott made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That prediction proved to be something of an underestimation.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his first call-up to the senior England squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a true blast from the past, a story seldom seen in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, let alone playing in the top division and representing the national team too,” the player said previously.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have changed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
So how did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has been far from a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an option and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he chose to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his local team.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my mates at the weekend because I missed nearly several years of that experience. To have that slice of youth back was a thing I definitely needed.
“To gain some confidence by returning and playing 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 made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance commented at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by islander their owner – had been monitoring his early progress after an impressive beginning in adult football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said the player. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a contract.”
In just 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against Luton.
Scott went on to make 83 league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being used as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and versatility. 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 picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and national team playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was selected in the division’s best XI and was voted the club’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 sport,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at the club, remarked last year.
Less than three months later, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the club, having to wait until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost four months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a strong understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to help them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” the player said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for the game, getting better every day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
