When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That prediction turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his first call-up to the senior Three Lions team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential England player 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 professional football player, let alone featuring in the top division and representing the national team as well,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for myself and my family.”
So how did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has not been a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to remain on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my friends at weekends because I had missed nearly several years of doing that. To have that little bit of youth back was a thing I really needed.
“Building some self-belief by returning and taking part in island football was massive for me. It was probably the most crucial factors that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott 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 get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking Scott’s development after an impressive start in men’s football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said the player. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the next day I was with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in London, travelled back and by Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
Within 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team 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 – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s best young player award, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for England and I think he will progress to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Within 90 days after, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
Scott endured a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“There was a decent run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like yet another setback and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, developing a strong partnership in the middle with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as impressively for his club, playing in all matches to help them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special moments of my life,” Scott said recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, getting better every day, and with luck I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
