Back when Alex Scott made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That statement proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his first summons to the senior England team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a proper throwback, a journey seldom told in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, never mind featuring in the Premier League and representing England too,” the player stated previously.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
So how did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has not been a typical one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he chose to stay on Guernsey and turn out for his local team.
“My form had dipped and flying over every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my friends at weekends because I missed almost four and a half years of that experience. Getting that slice of childhood again was a thing I definitely required.
“To gain some self-belief by coming back and taking part in island football was huge for me. It was probably the most crucial factors that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an promising beginning in men’s football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.
“It was hectic,” said Scott. “Day one I joined the youth team, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against the Hatters.
Scott made 83 league appearances for the club while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and national team attacking midfielder 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 best XI and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he’ll play for England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at the club, stated last year.
Within three months after, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
Scott experienced a difficult first season with the Cherries, having to wait until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was equally 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.
“That felt like yet another setback 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 Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, forming a formidable partnership in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign just as impressively for his club, playing in every game to help them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” the player said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a player, maintain my love for the game, getting better every day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
