Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This statement proved to be something of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his maiden summons to the senior Three Lions team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a proper throwback, a journey seldom told in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, let alone playing in the Premier League and representing the national team as well,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
So how did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has not been a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to stay on the island and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my mates at weekends because I had missed almost four and a half years of doing that. Getting that slice of childhood again was something I really needed.
“Building some confidence by returning and playing local football was huge for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important factors that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their league fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, 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 their owner – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an impressive beginning in adult football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said Scott. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I played for his local side in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
Scott made 83 league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – such was his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
With his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he will represent his country and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Less than three months later, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
The midfielder endured a difficult first season with the club, having to wait until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost several months.
“I had quite a good 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 the year was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a strong partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has started this season just as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special moments of my life,” the player stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and with luck I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
