Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This prediction proved to be something of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his maiden summons to the full England squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a proper throwback, a story seldom seen in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, let alone playing in the Premier League and playing for the national team as well,” Scott said previously.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
So how did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
His football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup 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 feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to stay on Guernsey and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my friends at weekends because I had missed almost four and a half years of that experience. Getting that little bit of childhood back was something I really needed.
“Building a bit of confidence by returning and playing local football was huge for me. It was perhaps one of the most important factors that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half substitute in their league match at the opposition.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by islander their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an promising beginning in adult football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled the player. “Day one I joined the youth team, the next day I was with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
In just 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
Scott went on to make 83 league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, often being used as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England 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 division’s team of the year and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at the club, stated previously.
Within 90 days after, he joined the Cherries for a understood fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder experienced a challenging first season with the club, waiting until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost four months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like almost another setback and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
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 Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, developing a strong understanding in midfield with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to guide them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, maintain my love for the game, getting better day on day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
