When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That statement 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 full Three Lions team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a true throwback, a journey rarely told in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, let alone playing in the Premier League and representing the national team as well,” Scott said previously.
“It’s 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 ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Learning in non-league
His path in football has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they released him. Bournemouth gave Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to remain on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my friends at the weekend because I missed nearly several years of that experience. Getting that little bit of childhood back was something I really required.
“To gain some confidence by coming back and playing local football was massive for me. It was probably the most crucial things that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their league fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his early progress after an impressive beginning in men’s football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled the player. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
Within a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against the Hatters.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league outings for the club while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and England playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was selected in the division’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at the club, stated last year.
Within 90 days after, he joined the Cherries for a reported fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
Scott endured a challenging debut campaign with the club, waiting until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“I had a decent run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“It was yet another obstacle and it was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to get himself fit 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, forming a formidable understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign equally as impressively for his club, featuring in every game to guide them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” Scott said recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying football, getting better every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
