When Alex Scott made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 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.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his maiden call-up to the senior England team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a true blast from the past, a story rarely told in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, let alone playing in the top division and playing for the national team too,” the player stated previously.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for me and my family.”
But how did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?
Learning in non-league
His path in football has not been a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books 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 local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at home with my mates at weekends because I missed nearly several years of doing that. To have that slice of youth back was a thing I really needed.
“Building some confidence 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.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an impressive beginning in adult football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“It was hectic,” said Scott. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for his local side in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field 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 a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against Luton.
Scott made 83 league outings for the club while in his teens, frequently 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 their best player.
With his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the division’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he will represent his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Less than 90 days later, he joined the Cherries for a reported fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
Scott experienced a challenging debut campaign with the club, having to wait until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost several months.
“I had quite a good run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, forming a strong understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has begun this season just as impressively for his club, featuring in all matches to help them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” Scott said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for the game, getting better day on day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
