🔗 Share this article

Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”

That statement proved to be something of an underestimation.

Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his maiden call-up to the full England team.

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

Next stop? The World Cup?

“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the Premier League and playing for the national team as well,” Scott stated in a recent interview.

“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”

So in what way did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?

Developing in non-league

Scott’s path in football has been far from a conventional one.

He was part of over four years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.

Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.

Rather, he opted to stay on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.

“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.

“All I desired to chill at home with my mates at weekends because I had missed almost four and a half years of doing that. To have that slice of youth again was something I really required.

“Building a bit of confidence by returning and playing island football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important things that led me to this point.”

At the age of 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.

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

“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 pro ranks

Championship side Bristol City – chaired by islander their owner – had been monitoring his development after an impressive beginning in men’s football and arranged a trial in late 2019.

“It was hectic,” said the player. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a total surprise.

“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”

Within 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus Luton.

He made 83 league outings for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.

Thanks to his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.

By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.

“No doubt, I think he will represent England and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at the club, stated previously.

Less than 90 days after, he joined the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.

Getting his major transfer

The midfielder experienced a challenging debut campaign with the club, having to wait until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being in and out of the starting XI.

His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly several months.

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

“It was almost another setback and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad 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 England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, forming a formidable partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the senior side with the national coach.

And he has begun this season equally as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in every game to guide them to fifth in the standings.

“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” the player said earlier this season.

“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a player, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”