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 boy.”
That statement proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his maiden summons to the senior England team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a proper throwback, a story seldom told in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, never mind playing in the top division and representing the national team too,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
But how did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Learning in non-league
His path in football has not been a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer him an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he chose to remain on the island and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my friends at the weekend because I missed nearly several years of doing that. To have that little bit of youth again was something I really needed.
“Building a bit of confidence by returning and taking part in local football was huge for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important factors that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their league fixture at the opposition.
“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,” Guernsey boss the coach stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his early progress after an promising beginning in men’s football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“It was hectic,” recalled the player. “Day one I joined the youth team, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
Within a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against the Hatters.
He made eighty-three league appearances for the club while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s best young player award, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was named 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, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Within three months after, he joined the Cherries for a reported fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
Scott experienced a difficult debut campaign with the club, having to wait until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost several months.
“I had a decent run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and it was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, developing a formidable understanding in midfield with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started this season equally as impressively for his club, playing in all matches to help them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” the player stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
