When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This statement proved to be something of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his maiden summons to the senior Three Lions team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a true blast from the past, a story seldom seen in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, never mind featuring in the top division and playing for England too,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for me and my family.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Learning in non-league
His football journey has been far from a typical one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott an option and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he opted to remain on the island and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. Getting that little bit of youth again was a thing I really required.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by returning and playing local football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important things that led me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” manager the coach stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s development after an promising start in men’s football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said the player. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
Within a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus Luton.
He made 83 league outings for the club while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was selected in the league’s best XI and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he will represent his country and I think he’ll go on to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at the club, stated previously.
Less than three months after, he joined the Cherries for a understood fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder endured a difficult first season with the Cherries, waiting until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being in and out of the team.
His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly several months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and it was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, forming a strong understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, 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, featuring in all matches to help them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special moments of my life,” Scott said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, getting better day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
