Back when Alex Scott made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That statement proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his first call-up to the senior Three Lions squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a true throwback, a journey seldom told in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, let alone playing in the top division and representing England as well,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed completely for myself and my family.”
But in what way did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Learning in non-league
His path in football has been far from a typical one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave him an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to stay on the island and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my friends at weekends because I missed nearly several years of that experience. To have that slice of youth again was something I really required.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by returning and playing local football was huge for me. It was perhaps the most crucial factors that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half substitute in their league fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“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 Tony Vance stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an impressive beginning in men’s football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled the player. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in London, returned home and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus Luton.
He went on to make 83 league outings for the club while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season award, was selected in the division’s best XI and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he will represent his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at the club, remarked last year.
Less than 90 days after, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost four months.
“There was a decent run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, forming a formidable partnership in the middle with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started this season just as strongly for his club, playing in every game to guide them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” the player stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, improving every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
