Back when Alex Scott made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This prediction proved to be something of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his first summons to the senior Three Lions team.
His ascent 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?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, let alone playing in the Premier League and representing England as well,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have changed completely for myself and my family.”
But how did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s football journey has not been a conventional one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he opted to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my friends at the weekend because I missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. Getting that slice of youth again was something I definitely needed.
“To gain some self-belief by coming back and taking part in local football was massive for me. It was probably the most crucial things that led me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach commented at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his development after an promising start in adult football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said Scott. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus Luton.
He made 83 league outings for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for England and I think he’ll go on to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at the club, stated previously.
Within 90 days later, he signed for the Cherries for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost four months.
“I had a decent run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like yet 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 U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, developing a formidable understanding in midfield with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season equally as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to help them to fifth in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my life,” Scott said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, keep enjoying football, improving every day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
