When Alex Scott made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This statement proved to be something of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his maiden summons to the full Three Lions team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a true throwback, a story seldom told in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, never mind playing in the Premier League and representing England as well,” the player stated previously.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they released him. The Cherries gave Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he opted to remain on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my mates at weekends because I had missed nearly several years of doing that. To have that little bit of childhood back was a thing I definitely required.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by returning and taking part in island football was huge for me. It was perhaps one of the most important factors that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking his development after an promising beginning in men’s football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” recalled the player. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the next day I was with the first team, which was a total shock.
“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 three goals. From that point a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
Within a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus Luton.
Scott made 83 league outings for the Robins while in his teens, often being used as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating 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 up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was named the club’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he will represent England and I think he will progress to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Less than three months after, he joined Bournemouth for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
Scott experienced a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost four months.
“I had a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, forming a formidable understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has begun this season equally as impressively for Bournemouth, playing 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 occasions of my career,” the player said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, improving day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
