When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That statement turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his first summons to the senior Three Lions squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a proper throwback, a journey seldom told in the modern game.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, let alone featuring in the Premier League and playing for the national team as well,” the player stated previously.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Developing in the lower tiers
His path in football has not been a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to remain on the island and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and flying over every week was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my friends at the weekend because I missed nearly several years of doing that. To have that little bit of youth back was a thing I really needed.
“To gain some self-belief by coming back and playing local football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important things that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” manager the coach stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an impressive beginning in men’s football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said Scott. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I played for his local side in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to sign a contract.”
Within 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against Luton.
He made eighty-three league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, often being used as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s best young player award, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he will represent England and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at the club, remarked last year.
Within three months after, he signed for the Cherries for a reported fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
The midfielder endured a challenging first season with the Cherries, having to wait until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“I had quite a good run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in 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 Slovakia, forming a formidable partnership in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign just as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to help them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my life,” the player said recently.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, improving day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
