When Alex Scott made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That statement turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his maiden call-up to the full Three Lions team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a proper blast from the past, a story seldom told in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the Premier League and playing for the national team as well,” the player said previously.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Developing in the lower tiers
His path in football has not been 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 travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he opted to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over every week was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my mates at weekends because I missed nearly several years of that experience. To have that little bit of youth back was a thing I really required.
“To gain some self-belief by coming back and taking part in island football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important factors that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance commented at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner 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 his development after an promising beginning in adult football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“It was hectic,” recalled Scott. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
Within a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus the Hatters.
Scott went on to make 83 league outings for the club while in his teens, frequently being used as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role 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 moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s best young player award, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was named the club’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 pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Less than 90 days later, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
Scott experienced a challenging debut campaign with the club, waiting until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being in and out of the team.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“I had a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and it was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, forming a strong partnership in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team under the national coach.
And he has begun this season equally as strongly for his club, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my life,” the player stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying football, improving every day, and with luck I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
