🔗 Share this article

When the young midfielder made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”

That prediction turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.

Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his maiden call-up to the senior England team.

His rise from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a proper blast from the past, a journey seldom told in the modern era.

Next stop? A major tournament?

“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, never mind playing in the top division and representing England as well,” the player stated in a recent interview.

“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for myself and my family.”

But in what way did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?

Developing in the lower tiers

Scott’s football journey has been far from a typical one.

He was part of over four years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.

Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.

Instead, he opted to stay on the island and turn out for his hometown club.

“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.

“All I desired to chill at home with my friends at weekends because I had missed almost several years of doing that. Getting that slice of youth again was a thing I definitely needed.

“To gain some confidence by coming back and playing local football was huge for me. It was perhaps the most crucial factors that led me to this point.”

When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their league match at the opposition.

“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” manager the coach commented back then.

“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

Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his early progress after an impressive start in men’s football and gave him a trial in December 2019.

“It was hectic,” said Scott. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.

“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to sign a deal.”

Within a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus the Hatters.

He made eighty-three league outings for the club while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.

With his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and England playmaker Grealish.

By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the league’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.

“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for England and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated previously.

Within 90 days later, he joined Bournemouth for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.

Getting his big move

The midfielder experienced a challenging debut campaign with the club, waiting until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.

His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly several months.

“There was a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.

“It was almost another obstacle and it was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first five months.”

But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.

He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, developing a strong partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.

And he has started this season equally as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the standings.

“To play for the national team would be among the most special moments of my life,” Scott stated recently.

“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for football, getting better every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”