When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This statement turned out to be something of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his maiden call-up to the full England team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a true blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, never mind playing in the Premier League and playing for the national team as well,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
So how did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Learning in non-league
His football journey has been far from a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an option and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Instead, he chose to stay on the island and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my mates at weekends because I missed almost four and a half years of doing that. Getting that slice of childhood back was something I definitely needed.
“Building some self-belief by returning and taking part in island football was huge for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important things that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half replacement in their league match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring his development after an impressive beginning in men’s football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” recalled Scott. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
In just a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against Luton.
Scott made 83 league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, often being used as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his ability to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team playmaker Jack 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 best XI and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he will represent his country and I think he will progress to the top of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s boss at the club, stated last year.
Less than 90 days after, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
Scott experienced a difficult debut campaign with the club, having to wait until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly several months.
“I had quite a good run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“It was yet another obstacle and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, forming a formidable partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as strongly for his club, playing in all matches to guide them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” the player stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, improving day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
