When Alex Scott made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This prediction turned out to be something of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his maiden summons to the senior Three Lions squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a true blast from the past, a journey seldom seen in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the Premier League and playing for the national team too,” the player said previously.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have transformed completely for myself and my family.”
But how did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Learning in the lower tiers
His football journey has been far from a typical one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, skipping school each 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, however, they released him. Bournemouth gave Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to stay on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my mates at the weekend because I missed almost several years of that experience. Getting that slice of youth back was a thing I really required.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by coming back and playing local football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important things that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 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 had 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.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an promising start in men’s football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” said the player. “Day one I joined the youth team, the second day I was with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field 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 some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against Luton.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league outings for the club while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – such was his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and national team playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at the club, stated last year.
Within three months later, he joined the Cherries for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
Scott experienced a challenging first season with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“I had quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“It was almost another setback and it was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, forming a formidable understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the first team under the national coach.
And he has begun this season equally as strongly for his club, featuring in every game to help them to fifth in the standings.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special moments of my life,” the player said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, maintain my love for football, getting better every day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
