🔗 Share this article

When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”

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

Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his maiden summons to the full Three Lions squad.

His rise from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a true throwback, a story seldom told in the modern game.

Next stop? The World Cup?

“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, let alone playing in the top division and representing England too,” Scott stated previously.

“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for me and my loved ones.”

But in what way did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?

Learning in the lower tiers

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

He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.

Prior to he turned 13, though, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.

Instead, he chose to remain on Guernsey and play for his local team.

“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.

“All I desired to chill at home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed almost four and a half years of doing that. To have that little bit of youth again was something I really needed.

“Building a bit of self-belief by returning and taking part in local football was massive for me. It was perhaps the most crucial factors that led me to this point.”

When he was just 16, Scott made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.

“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” manager the coach stated at the time.

“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with 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 his early progress after an promising start in adult football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.

“The whole experience was hectic,” said Scott. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.

“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a deal.”

In just a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus Luton.

Scott made eighty-three league outings for the club while in his teens, often being used as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.

With his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.

By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s best young player award, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.

“Without question, I think he will represent England and I think 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 signed for the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of £25m.

Getting his big move

Scott endured a difficult debut campaign with the club, waiting until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the team.

His following season was just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost four months.

“I had quite a good run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.

“It was yet another obstacle and it was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first five months.”

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

He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, forming a formidable partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.

And he has begun the current campaign just as impressively for his club, playing in every game to help them to the top five in the table.

“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” Scott said recently.

“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for the game, getting better day on day, and with luck I impress the England manager and get my chance.”