Back when Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That prediction turned out to be something of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his first summons to the senior Three Lions squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a proper blast from the past, a story seldom told in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, let alone playing in the Premier League and representing England as well,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have transformed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s football journey has not been a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early 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 Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Instead, he chose to stay on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my friends at weekends because I had missed almost four and a half years of that experience. Getting that slice of childhood again was a thing I really required.
“Building a bit of self-belief by coming back and playing island football was massive for me. It was perhaps the most crucial things that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an promising beginning in men’s football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” said the player. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in London, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus the Hatters.
Scott made eighty-three league outings for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being used as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s best young player honour, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he will represent England and I think he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at the club, remarked last year.
Less than 90 days after, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost four months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“It was almost another setback and it was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, developing a strong understanding in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team under the national coach.
And he has begun this season just as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to guide them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” the player said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, getting better day on day, and with luck I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
