Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This prediction proved to be something of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his first summons to the senior Three Lions team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a true throwback, a story rarely seen in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, never mind playing in the top division and representing the national team too,” the player said previously.
“It has been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have transformed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Learning in non-league
His path in football has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave 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 remain on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my mates at weekends because I missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. Getting that little bit of youth back was something I really required.
“Building some self-belief by coming back and taking part in local football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial things that led me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute 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 team because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring his development after an impressive beginning in men’s football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled Scott. “The first day I joined the youth team, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
Within a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus Luton.
He went on to make eighty-three league outings for the club while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was named the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for his country and I think he’ll go on to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at the club, stated last year.
Within 90 days later, he signed for the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
Scott endured a challenging debut campaign with the club, having to wait until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost four months.
“There was a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and it was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England 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 partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign equally as strongly for his club, playing in every game to guide them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” the player stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, improving every day, and with luck I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
