When Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That prediction proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his maiden call-up to the senior England team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a proper blast from the past, a story seldom told in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, let alone playing in the Premier League and playing for England too,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Developing in non-league
His football journey has not been a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, though, they released him. Bournemouth gave Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he opted to remain on the island and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my friends at the weekend because I missed nearly several years of doing that. Getting that little bit of youth back was something I really required.
“Building a bit of confidence by coming back and taking part in island football was huge for me. It was probably the most crucial factors that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach stated back then.
“People have witnessed 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 – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking Scott’s development after an impressive start in men’s football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled the player. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the second day I was with the first team, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against Luton.
Scott made 83 league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at the club, remarked last year.
Less than 90 days later, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder endured a difficult first season with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“I had a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and it was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a formidable partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the first team under the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign just as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to guide them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” Scott said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, getting better every day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
