Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This statement turned out to be something of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his first call-up to the senior Three Lions team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a true throwback, a journey seldom told in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, let alone playing in the Premier League and representing the national team too,” the player said previously.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for me and my family.”
But in what way did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s path in football has been far from a typical one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ youth system 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 attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they released him. Bournemouth gave Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose to stay on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my mates at weekends because I missed nearly several years of doing that. Getting that little bit of youth back was a thing I definitely needed.
“To gain some self-belief by returning and taking part in island football was massive for me. It was probably the most crucial factors that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half replacement in their league fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an impressive beginning in adult football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” said the player. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus the Hatters.
He went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, often being used as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was selected in the league’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for his country and I think he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Less than three months after, he joined the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
Scott endured a difficult first season with the Cherries, having to wait until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost four months.
“I had a decent run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and it was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, developing a strong partnership in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season equally as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to guide them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” the player said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, improving day on day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
