When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That prediction turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his first summons to the full Three Lions squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a proper throwback, a journey seldom told in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the Premier League and playing for England too,” the player stated previously.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has not been a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, 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.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my mates at weekends because I had missed almost several years of doing that. Getting that slice of youth again was a thing I definitely required.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by returning and taking part in island football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial factors that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half substitute in their league match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his early progress after an promising beginning in adult football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“It was hectic,” recalled Scott. “The first day I joined the youth team, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s 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.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for his country and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, the player’s manager at the club, stated previously.
Within 90 days later, he joined Bournemouth for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
The midfielder endured a difficult first season with the club, waiting until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“There was a decent run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was yet another setback and it was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, forming a strong understanding in midfield with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to help them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special moments of my career,” the player said recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, getting better every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
