When Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That prediction turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his maiden call-up to the full England squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a proper blast from the past, a story rarely seen in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, never mind featuring in the Premier League and playing for England too,” the player stated previously.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for me and my family.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s path in football has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, however, they released him. The Cherries gave Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Instead, he chose to stay on Guernsey and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my mates at weekends because I had missed almost several years of that experience. Getting that slice of youth back was something I really needed.
“To gain a bit of confidence by coming back and taking part in island football was massive for me. It was probably the most crucial factors that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring his early progress after an promising start in adult football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” said the player. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
In just 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against Luton.
Scott made eighty-three league outings for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being used as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s best young player award, was selected in the league’s best XI and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he will represent his country and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Within 90 days after, he joined the Cherries for a understood fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
Scott experienced a difficult debut campaign with the club, having to wait until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly several months.
“I had a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“It was almost another obstacle and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, forming a strong partnership in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign just as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to guide them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my life,” Scott said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, getting better every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
