Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This statement proved to be something of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his maiden call-up to the senior England team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a true blast from the past, a journey rarely told in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, never mind featuring in the top division and representing the national team as well,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for myself and my family.”
But how did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?
Developing in non-league
His football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before he turned 13, though, they released him. Bournemouth gave him an option and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind 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 traveling weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my friends at weekends because I missed almost four and a half years of that experience. To have that slice of childhood again was something I really needed.
“Building a bit of self-belief by coming back and playing island football was massive for me. It was probably the most crucial factors that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having 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 back then.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by islander their owner – had been monitoring his development after an promising beginning in adult football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“It was hectic,” recalled Scott. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I played for his local side in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
Within 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against the Hatters.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and England playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I think he will represent his country and I think he’ll go on to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Within three months after, he joined Bournemouth for a understood fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
Scott experienced a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“It was almost another obstacle and it was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a formidable understanding in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign equally as strongly for his club, featuring in all matches to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” the player said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, improving every day, and with luck I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
