When Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That prediction proved to be something of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his first call-up to the full Three Lions team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a proper blast from the past, a story seldom told in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, let alone playing in the top division and playing for the national team too,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have transformed completely for myself and my family.”
But how did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has been far from a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, leaving school early each Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, though, they released him. Bournemouth gave him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to remain on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my friends at weekends because I missed nearly several years of doing that. To have that little bit of youth again was a thing I definitely needed.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by coming back and playing local football was huge for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial things that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half substitute in their league fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s development after an impressive beginning in men’s football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” recalled Scott. “Day one I joined the youth team, the next day I was with the first team, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against Luton.
Scott went on to make 83 league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being used as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
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 nod to City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at the club, remarked last year.
Within three months after, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
The midfielder experienced a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost four months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“It was almost another setback and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, forming a formidable partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season just as strongly for his club, playing in every game to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special moments of my career,” Scott stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a player, keep enjoying the game, getting better day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
