Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This statement proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his first call-up to the full England squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a true blast from the past, a story rarely told in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, never mind playing in the Premier League and representing England as well,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed completely for me and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Learning in non-league
His football journey has not been a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of 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 feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before he turned 13, though, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer him an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he opted to stay on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at home with my friends at weekends because I had missed almost several years of doing that. To have that little bit of childhood back was a thing I really needed.
“Building a bit of confidence by coming back and playing local football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important things that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their 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 side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his early progress after an promising start in men’s football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” said the player. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the second day I was with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against Luton.
He went on to make 83 league outings for the club while in his teens, often being used as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s best young player award, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for England and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at the club, remarked last year.
Within three months after, he signed for the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
The midfielder experienced a difficult first season with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly several months.
“I had quite a good run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like yet another setback and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, developing a formidable partnership in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.
And he has started this season equally as impressively for his club, playing in all matches to guide them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special moments of my life,” the player said recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, improving every day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
