Back when Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This statement proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his first call-up to the full England team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a true blast from the past, a journey seldom told in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, let alone playing in the top division and playing for the national team too,” Scott stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
So how did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
His football journey has not been a typical one.
He was part of 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 mainland so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, though, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an option and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
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 starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my mates at the weekend because I missed almost several years of doing that. To have that slice of youth again was a thing I definitely needed.
“To gain some self-belief by returning and taking part in local football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important things that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott became the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance commented 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 the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an impressive start in adult football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” said Scott. “Day one I joined the youth team, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
Within 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus Luton.
Scott made 83 league outings for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his ability to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the league’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he will represent his country and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s boss at the club, stated previously.
Less than 90 days after, he joined the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
Scott experienced a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost several months.
“There was a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first half.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, forming a strong understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to guide them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest 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 the game, getting better every day, and with luck I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
