Back when Alex Scott made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This prediction turned out to be something of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his maiden call-up to the senior Three Lions team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a proper throwback, a story seldom told in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the Premier League and representing the national team as well,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for me and my family.”
But how did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Developing in non-league
His path in football has not been a typical 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 home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and play for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they released him. Bournemouth gave him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to stay on Guernsey and turn out for his local team.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at home with my mates at weekends because I had missed nearly several years of doing that. To have that little bit of youth back was a thing I really needed.
“Building some confidence by coming back and playing island football was huge for me. It was perhaps the most crucial factors that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – owned by islander their owner – had been tracking Scott’s development after an impressive start in men’s football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” said Scott. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in London, travelled back and by Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
In just 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against the Hatters.
He went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – such was his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
With 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 City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he will represent England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, the player’s manager at the club, remarked last year.
Within three months later, he joined the Cherries for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
Scott endured a difficult first season with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“There was a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like yet another setback and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He went on to start 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 in turn has gone on to impress for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started this season equally as strongly for his club, playing in every game to guide 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,” Scott said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, getting better every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
