When Alex Scott made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then assured, “there’s more to come 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 playmaker has just received his first summons to the full England team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a true throwback, a story seldom seen in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, let alone playing in the Premier League and representing England as well,” the player stated previously.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for me and my family.”
So how did Scott, referred to affectionately 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 over four years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his island 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 opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to stay on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed almost several years of that experience. To have that little bit of childhood back was something I definitely required.
“Building some self-belief by coming back and taking part in local football was massive for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important things that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the youngest player 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 include him in the side because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an promising beginning in adult football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled the player. “Day one I joined the youth team, the second day I was with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
Within 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against Luton.
He went on to make eighty-three league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – 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 carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled 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 young player of the season 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 think he will progress to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Less than 90 days after, he joined the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder experienced a difficult debut campaign with the club, having to wait until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, 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 nearly several months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, developing a formidable partnership in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the first team with the national coach.
And he has started this season equally as impressively for his club, featuring in every game to help them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” Scott said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, improving day on day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
