When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This statement proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his first call-up to the full England squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a proper blast from the past, a story rarely seen in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, let alone playing in the Premier League and representing England as well,” Scott stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Developing in non-league
His football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to remain on the island and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed almost several years of that experience. To have that little bit of childhood back was something I definitely needed.
“To gain a bit of confidence by returning and playing local football was huge for me. It was perhaps one of the most important factors that led me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an promising start in men’s football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said the player. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in London, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
Within 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against Luton.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league outings for the club while still a teenager, often being used as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was selected in the league’s best XI and was named the club’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I think he will represent England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at the club, remarked previously.
Less than 90 days later, he signed for the Cherries for a reported fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
Scott endured a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being in and out of the team.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“There was 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 setback and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, forming a strong understanding in the middle with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has started this season equally as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in every game to guide them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special moments of my life,” Scott stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, improving every day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
