When Alex Scott made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This prediction proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his maiden summons to the full Three Lions team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a proper blast from the past, a journey seldom told in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the Premier League and playing for the national team as well,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
His football journey has been far from a typical one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave Scott an option and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he chose to stay on the island and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my mates at weekends because I had missed almost four and a half years of that experience. Getting that slice of youth back was a thing I really required.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by returning and taking part in local football was massive for me. It was perhaps the most crucial 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 was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his early progress after an promising beginning in adult football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience 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 featured for his local side in London, returned home and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
Within a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against Luton.
Scott went on to make 83 league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he will represent his country and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at the club, remarked previously.
Within three months after, he signed for the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the club, having to wait until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being in and out of the team.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost four months.
“I had a decent run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and it was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, developing a formidable understanding in the middle with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign equally as strongly for his club, playing in all matches to guide them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” the player said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for the game, improving day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
