When Alex Scott made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This prediction turned out to be something of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his maiden summons to the full Three Lions team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a proper throwback, a journey seldom told in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the top division and representing the national team too,” Scott stated previously.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have transformed completely for me and my family.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Developing in the lower tiers
His path in football has been far from a typical one.
He was part of over four years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they released him. Bournemouth gave him an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Instead, he opted to remain on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my friends at the weekend because I missed nearly several years of that experience. Getting that slice of youth again was something I definitely required.
“Building a bit of self-belief by returning and taking part in local football was huge for me. It was perhaps the most crucial things that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” manager the coach stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by islander their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an promising beginning in men’s football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” recalled the player. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
Within 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against Luton.
Scott went on to make 83 league appearances for the club while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.
With his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for England and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, the player’s boss at the club, stated last year.
Within three months later, he joined the Cherries for a understood fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder experienced a difficult debut campaign with the club, waiting until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“I had a decent run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, forming a formidable partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as impressively for his club, playing in all matches to help them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, getting better every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
