When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This prediction proved to be something of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his first call-up to the senior Three Lions squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a true blast from the past, a journey rarely told in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the Premier League and playing for England as well,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It has been a incredible 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 ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s path in football has not been a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave 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 Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my friends at weekends because I had missed almost several years of that experience. To have that little bit of childhood back was a thing I definitely required.
“Building a bit of self-belief by coming back and playing local football was massive for me. It was probably one of the most important factors that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their league match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – chaired by islander their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an impressive start in adult football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said Scott. “Day one I joined the youth team, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus Luton.
He made eighty-three league outings for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s best young player award, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I think he will represent England and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s manager at the club, remarked previously.
Less than three months after, he signed for the Cherries for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder experienced a difficult debut campaign with the club, having to wait until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost several months.
“I had a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like yet another setback and it was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, forming a strong understanding in the middle with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has begun this season just as strongly for his club, playing in all matches to guide them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” Scott stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, getting better every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
