When Alex Scott made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That statement turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his maiden call-up to the full Three Lions squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, let alone featuring 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 circumstances have changed drastically for myself and my family.”
But how did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has not been a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
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 recalled.
“All I desired to chill at home with my mates at weekends because I missed nearly several years of that experience. Getting that slice of youth back was something I really needed.
“To gain some confidence by returning and taking part in local football was huge for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important factors that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their league match at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an promising beginning in men’s football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled the player. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus Luton.
Scott went on to make 83 league appearances for the club while in his teens, often being used as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – such was his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the game,” his former manager, the player’s manager at the club, remarked last year.
Less than 90 days after, he joined Bournemouth for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
Scott experienced a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost four months.
“I had quite a good run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“It was almost another obstacle and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, developing a strong partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign just as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to guide them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” the player said recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, keep enjoying the game, getting better day on day, and with luck I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
