When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That statement turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his first call-up to the full England squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a true throwback, a story rarely seen in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, let alone playing in the top division and representing the national team too,” Scott stated previously.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have changed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
So how did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they released him. Bournemouth 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 chose to remain on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at home with my friends at weekends because I missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. To have that little bit of childhood again was a thing I really required.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by coming back and taking part in local football was massive for me. It was probably the most crucial things that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half replacement in their league fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his early progress after an promising start in men’s football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” said the player. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the next day I was with the first team, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I played for his local side in London, travelled back and by Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
Within a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against Luton.
He went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the club while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks 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 season he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was named the club’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for his country and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at the club, stated previously.
Within three months later, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
The midfielder experienced a challenging first season with the club, waiting until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“I had a decent run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“It was almost another obstacle and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, developing a strong understanding in the middle with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.
And he has begun this season equally as impressively for his club, playing in every game to guide them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, getting better day on day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
