When Alex Scott made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That statement proved to be something of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his first summons to the full Three Lions squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a proper blast from the past, a story rarely told in the modern game.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, never mind playing in the top division and playing for England too,” Scott stated previously.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for me and my loved ones.”
So how did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Developing in non-league
His football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of 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 mainland so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave him an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he opted to stay on the island and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my mates at weekends because I had missed almost several years of that experience. To have that slice of childhood back was something I really needed.
“Building a bit of self-belief by coming back and playing island football was massive for me. It was probably the most crucial things that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, Scott made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an promising beginning in adult football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” said Scott. “The first day I trained with 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 London, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
In just 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus the Hatters.
He made eighty-three league appearances for the club while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for his country and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, the player’s manager at the club, remarked last year.
Within 90 days later, he joined the Cherries for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
Scott experienced a challenging first season with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like almost another setback and it was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, developing a strong understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the first team under the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign just as impressively for his club, featuring in all matches to guide them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” Scott stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, improving day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
