When Alex Scott made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This statement turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his first summons to the full Three Lions squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, never mind featuring in the top division and representing the national team too,” Scott stated previously.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed completely for myself and my family.”
But how did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Learning in non-league
His path in football has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he opted to remain on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and flying over every week was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my mates at weekends because I missed nearly several years of doing that. To have that slice of childhood back was a thing I definitely needed.
“Building some confidence by coming back and taking part in local football was huge for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial factors that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach 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.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his early progress after an promising start in adult football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” said Scott. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the next day I was with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for his local side in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against the Hatters.
Scott made 83 league appearances for the club while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he will represent England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at the club, stated last year.
Less than 90 days after, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
Scott endured a challenging first season with the club, having to wait until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly 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.
“It was almost another setback and it was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, forming a formidable partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as impressively for his club, playing in every game to help them to fifth in the standings.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special moments of my career,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a player, maintain my love for football, improving day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
