When Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That statement proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his maiden call-up to the senior England team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a true throwback, a journey rarely seen in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the top division and playing for England too,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have changed completely for me and my family.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
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 every Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an option and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he chose to remain on the island and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my friends at weekends because I had missed almost four and a half years of that experience. Getting that little bit of youth back was a thing I really required.
“Building some confidence by returning and playing island football was massive for me. It was perhaps the most crucial factors that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” manager the coach commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – owned by islander their owner – had been tracking his early progress after an impressive beginning in adult football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said the player. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the next day I was with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against the Hatters.
Scott made 83 league outings for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – such was his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he will represent his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s boss at the club, stated previously.
Less than three months later, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly several months.
“There was a decent run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and it was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, developing a strong understanding in the middle with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season just as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” the player said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, getting better day on day, and with luck I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
