Back when Alex Scott made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That prediction proved to be something of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his first call-up to the senior England team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a true throwback, a journey seldom seen in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, let alone playing in the Premier League and playing for England too,” the player stated previously.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for me and my family.”
So in what way did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
His football journey has not been a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he opted to stay on Guernsey and turn out for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my friends at weekends because I missed almost several years of that experience. To have that little bit of youth again was something I definitely required.
“Building some self-belief by returning and taking part in island football was massive for me. It was probably one of the most important things that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager 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 the opposition.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by islander their owner – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an impressive start in men’s football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said Scott. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I played for his local side in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against Luton.
He made 83 league appearances for the club while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he will represent his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Less than 90 days later, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder endured a challenging first season with the Cherries, having to wait until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost four months.
“There was a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, forming a strong partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the first team with the national coach.
And he has begun this season just as strongly for Bournemouth, 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 life,” Scott stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, getting better every day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
