Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This statement proved to be something of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his first call-up to the full England squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a true blast from the past, a journey seldom seen in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, never mind playing in the top division and representing the national team too,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for myself and my family.”
But how did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
His path in football has not been a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he opted to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my mates at the weekend because I missed almost four and a half years of that experience. To have that slice of youth again was something I really required.
“To gain some self-belief by coming back and playing local football was huge for me. It was perhaps one of the most important things that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – owned by islander their owner – had been tracking Scott’s development after an impressive start in men’s football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“It was hectic,” said the player. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against Luton.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the club while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s best young player award, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Within 90 days later, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
Scott experienced a challenging first season with the club, waiting until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being in and out of the team.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was yet another obstacle and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, forming a formidable partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself 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 all matches to help them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” the player stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, maintain my love for football, getting better day on day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
