When Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This prediction turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his first call-up to the senior England team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely told in the modern game.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, let alone playing in the top division and representing the national team as well,” the player stated previously.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have transformed completely for me and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s path in football has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to stay on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my mates at the weekend because I missed almost several years of that experience. To have that little bit of youth back was something I definitely required.
“Building a bit of self-belief by coming back and playing local football was huge for me. It was perhaps the most crucial factors that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by islander their owner – had been monitoring his early progress after an promising start in men’s football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” recalled Scott. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus the Hatters.
He made 83 league appearances for the club while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s best young player 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 his country and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at the club, stated last year.
Within three months later, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
Scott endured a difficult first season with the club, having to wait until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost four months.
“There was a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was yet another setback and it was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, forming a strong partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign equally as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to help them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” Scott stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, getting better every day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
