Back when Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This prediction turned out to be something of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his maiden summons to the full England team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a true blast from the past, a journey seldom seen in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, never mind featuring in the top division and representing the national team too,” Scott stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
So how did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Developing in non-league
His path in football has not been a conventional one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an option and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he chose to stay on the island and turn out for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill 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 really needed.
“To gain some confidence 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.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the team because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking Scott’s development after an promising start in men’s football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled Scott. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a contract.”
Within 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against Luton.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league outings for the club while in his teens, frequently being used as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – such was his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
Thanks to 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 EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the division’s best XI and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he will represent England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Within 90 days later, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“I had a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like 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 succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, developing a formidable understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the first team 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 table.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” the player stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, improving every day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
