Back when Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This statement turned out to be something of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his maiden summons to the full Three Lions team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a proper throwback, a journey seldom seen in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the top division and representing England as well,” the player stated previously.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has not been a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he opted to stay on the island and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my mates at the weekend because I missed almost four and a half years of that experience. To have that slice of youth back was something I really required.
“Building some self-belief by coming back and taking part in island football was massive for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial things that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – owned by islander their owner – had been tracking Scott’s development after an promising start in adult football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“It was hectic,” recalled Scott. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
Within 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus Luton.
Scott made eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward 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 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 Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he will represent England and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Less than 90 days later, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder experienced a difficult first season with the club, having to wait until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“I had quite a good run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, developing a formidable partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the first team under the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to help them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special moments of my career,” the player stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
