Back when Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That statement turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his maiden call-up to the full Three Lions squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a proper throwback, a story seldom told in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, never mind featuring in the Premier League and playing for the national team too,” the player stated previously.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
But how did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Learning in non-league
His football journey has been far from a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he chose to stay on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to chill at home with my friends at weekends because I had missed nearly several years of doing that. To have that little bit of childhood back was something I really needed.
“Building a bit of self-belief by coming back and taking part in island football was huge for me. It was perhaps one of the most important things that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” manager the coach stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring his development after an impressive beginning in adult football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said the player. “The first day I joined the youth team, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against the Hatters.
He went on to make 83 league appearances for the club while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and national team playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he will represent his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Less than 90 days later, he joined the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
The midfielder experienced a challenging first season with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out 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.
“That felt like yet another setback and it was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, forming a strong partnership in midfield with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team under the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign just as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to help them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special moments of my life,” the player stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, improving every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
