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 back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That statement turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his first summons to the full England team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a true blast from the past, a story rarely seen in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, never mind playing in the Premier League and representing England as well,” the player said previously.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for me and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Learning in the lower tiers
His path in football has not been a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey 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 him an option and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose to remain on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my friends at weekends because I had missed almost several years of that experience. To have that slice of youth back was something I definitely required.
“Building some self-belief by returning and playing local football was massive for me. It was perhaps one of the most important things that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” manager the coach stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
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 men’s football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled the player. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in London, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
Within a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against the Hatters.
Scott made 83 league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he will represent his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the game,” his former manager, the player’s manager at the club, stated last year.
Within three months later, he joined the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder endured a challenging debut campaign with the club, waiting until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost four months.
“I had a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, forming a strong partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season just as strongly for his club, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my life,” the player said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, improving every day, and with luck I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
