Back when Alex Scott made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time 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 Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his maiden summons to the senior Three Lions squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a true blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, never mind playing in the top division and representing the national team too,” the player said previously.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have changed completely for myself and my family.”
So in what way did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Learning in the lower tiers
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 each Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave him an option and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he opted to remain on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at home with my friends at weekends because I missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. Getting that slice of childhood back was a thing I definitely required.
“Building a bit of self-belief by coming back and playing local football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important factors that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen 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
Championship side the Robins – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s development after an promising start in men’s football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said Scott. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
In just a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus Luton.
He made 83 league outings for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being used as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. 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 ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s best young player honour, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for his country and I think he’ll go on to the top of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Within 90 days after, he signed for the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder endured a challenging first season with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost four months.
“I had quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and it was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a strong understanding in midfield with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as impressively for his club, playing in every game to guide them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special moments of my career,” Scott said recently.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a player, keep enjoying the game, getting better day on day, and with luck I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
