Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This prediction turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his first call-up to the full England team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a true blast from the past, a story seldom told in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, never mind playing in the top division and representing the national team too,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
So how did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
His football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer him an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he opted to remain on the island and turn out for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my mates at weekends because I missed almost four and a half years of that experience. Getting that slice of childhood again was something I definitely needed.
“To gain some confidence by coming back and taking part in local football was huge for me. It was perhaps one of the most important factors that led me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an promising start in adult football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” said the player. “Day one I joined the youth team, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I featured for his local side in London, returned home and by Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus Luton.
He went on to make 83 league appearances for the club while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s best young player honour, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was named 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 top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Within 90 days after, he signed for the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
Scott endured a challenging first season with the club, having to wait until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, 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 several months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was almost another obstacle and it was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, forming a strong partnership in the middle with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started this season equally as strongly for his club, featuring in all matches to help them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special moments of my life,” the player said recently.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, improving day on day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
