Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That prediction proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his first summons to the full England team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a proper throwback, a journey seldom told in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, never mind playing in the Premier League and playing for England as well,” the player stated previously.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Developing in the lower tiers
His football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to stay on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was becoming a bit too much,” 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. Getting that slice of childhood back was a thing I definitely required.
“Building a bit of confidence by returning and taking part in island football was massive for me. It was perhaps one of the most important things that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking his early progress after an promising beginning in adult football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.
“It was hectic,” recalled Scott. “The first day I joined the youth team, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
Within a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against Luton.
He went on to make 83 league outings for the club while in his teens, frequently being used as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I think he will represent England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at the club, remarked last year.
Within 90 days after, he signed for the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
Scott experienced a difficult first season with the Cherries, 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 starting XI.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost several months.
“I had quite a good run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like yet another setback and it was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, developing a formidable understanding in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.
And he has started this season just as strongly for his club, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my career,” Scott stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a player, maintain my love for football, getting better every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
