Back when Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This 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 summons to the full Three Lions team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a true throwback, a story rarely seen in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, never mind playing in the top division and representing England as well,” the player said previously.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and play for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he chose to stay on Guernsey and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed nearly several years of that experience. Getting that little bit of youth again was a thing I definitely needed.
“To gain some confidence by returning and playing island football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important factors that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – chaired by islander their owner – had been tracking his development after an impressive beginning in adult football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” recalled the player. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league outings for the Robins while in his teens, often being used as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age 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 earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s young player of the season award, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at the club, stated last year.
Less than three months after, he joined Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
Scott experienced a difficult debut campaign with the club, having to wait until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem 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 four months.
“I had quite a good run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then selected 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 England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, developing a strong understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign equally as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” the player stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, getting better every day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
