Back when Alex Scott made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then assured, “there’s more to come 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 playmaker has earned his maiden call-up to the full England squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a proper blast from the past, a story seldom seen in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, let alone featuring in the Premier League and representing England too,” Scott said previously.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for myself and my family.”
So in what way did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Learning in non-league
His path in football has not been a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, though, they released him. Bournemouth gave Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he opted to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my mates at weekends because I missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. To have that little bit of childhood back was a thing I really needed.
“Building a bit of confidence by returning and playing local football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial factors that led me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach commented at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his early progress after an promising beginning in adult football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” recalled the player. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I played 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 sign a contract.”
Within 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against Luton.
He went on to make eighty-three league appearances 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 versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for England and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at the club, remarked last year.
Within 90 days later, he joined the Cherries for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting 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 the summer, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, developing a strong partnership in the middle with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as impressively for his club, featuring in all matches to help them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my life,” the player said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying football, improving day on day, and with luck I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
