Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That statement turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his first summons to the full Three Lions squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a true blast from the past, a journey rarely told in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, never mind playing in the top division and playing for the national team as well,” the player stated previously.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Learning in the lower tiers
His path in football has not been a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they released him. The Cherries gave Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he opted to stay on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my friends at weekends because I missed almost four and a half years of doing that. To have that little bit of youth back was a thing I definitely required.
“To gain a bit of confidence by coming back and taking part in island football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important factors that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” manager the coach stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by islander their owner – had been tracking Scott’s development after an impressive start in adult football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” recalled the player. “The first day 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 on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against Luton.
He went on to make eighty-three league outings for the club while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s best young player award, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for his country and I think he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at the club, stated previously.
Less than three months later, he joined the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
Scott experienced a challenging debut campaign with the club, waiting until the autumn to make his Premier League 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 knee operation which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“I had a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like yet another setback and it was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, developing a formidable understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started this season equally as impressively for his club, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special moments of my life,” Scott stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for football, improving day on day, and with luck I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
