When Alex Scott made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That statement turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his maiden call-up to the full Three Lions squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a true blast from the past, a story seldom told in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, let alone playing in the top division and playing for England too,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for myself and my family.”
So how did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s path in football has been far from a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an option and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he opted to stay on the island and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and flying over every week was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed nearly several years of that experience. To have that little bit of childhood again was something I really needed.
“Building a bit of confidence by returning and taking part in island football was massive for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important things that got me to this point.”
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 substitute in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an impressive beginning in men’s football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“It was hectic,” said the player. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against the Hatters.
He went on to make 83 league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at the club, remarked last year.
Within three months after, he signed for the Cherries for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
Scott endured a difficult first season with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“I had a decent run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“It was yet another obstacle and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, forming a strong understanding in the middle with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign equally as strongly for his club, playing in all matches to help them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” Scott stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying the game, getting better day on day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
