Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That prediction proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his first summons to the full England squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a true blast from the past, a journey seldom seen in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the Premier League and representing England too,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for me and my family.”
So in what way did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my friends at weekends because I missed almost four and a half years of that experience. Getting that little bit of youth again was something I really required.
“To gain a bit of confidence by returning and taking part in island football was huge for me. It was probably one of the most important things that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an impressive start in men’s football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” said the player. “Day one I joined the youth team, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side 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 certainty for me to sign a contract.”
In just a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against the Hatters.
He made 83 league outings for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role 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 earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s manager at the club, stated last year.
Within three months later, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
Scott experienced a difficult first season with the club, waiting until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly several months.
“There was a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like yet another setback and it was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
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 formidable understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign equally as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to guide them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” the player stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, getting better every day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
