Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This prediction turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his first call-up to the full England squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the top division 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 things have transformed drastically for me and my family.”
So in what way did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has not been a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they released him. Bournemouth gave him an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to stay on the island and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my mates at the weekend because I missed almost several years of doing that. To have that little bit of youth again was something I definitely needed.
“To gain some confidence by returning and playing local football was massive for me. It was probably the most crucial factors that led me where I am today.”
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 fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his development after an impressive start in men’s football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled the player. “The first day I joined the youth team, the second day I was with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
In just a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus Luton.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he will represent England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Less than three months later, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the club, waiting until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being in and out of the team.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly several months.
“There was a decent run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was almost another obstacle and it was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness 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 understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team under the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign just as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to guide them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, improving day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
