Back when Alex Scott made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This prediction turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his first call-up to the senior Three Lions team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a true blast from the past, a story rarely seen in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, never mind playing in the Premier League and playing for England too,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed drastically for myself and my family.”
But in what way did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Learning in non-league
His path in football has not been a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they released him. The Cherries gave Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose to remain on the island and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed nearly several years of that experience. To have that slice of youth back was something I definitely required.
“Building some confidence by coming back and taking part in local football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important factors that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” manager the coach commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by islander their owner – had been tracking his development after an promising beginning in adult football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” said Scott. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus the Hatters.
Scott made eighty-three league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being used as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was selected in the division’s best XI and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“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, stated previously.
Within 90 days later, he joined Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
Scott experienced a difficult first season with the club, having to wait until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“I had a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“It was yet another setback and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, forming a strong understanding in the middle with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign just as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to help them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my career,” Scott stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, maintain my love for the game, getting better every day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
