When Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That statement turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his first summons to the full Three Lions team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a proper blast from the past, a journey seldom told in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, never mind featuring in the Premier League and playing for the national team too,” the player said previously.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for me and my family.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?
Developing in non-league
His football journey has not been a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his local team.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my mates at weekends because I missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. To have that little bit of childhood back was a thing I definitely required.
“To gain some self-belief by returning and playing island football was huge for me. It was probably one of the most important things that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their league match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – chaired by islander their owner – had been monitoring his development after an promising start in adult football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” recalled Scott. “The first day I joined the youth team, the next day I was with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
Within a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus Luton.
Scott made eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was selected in the league’s best XI and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he’ll play for England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Within three months later, he signed for the Cherries for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
Scott experienced a difficult first season with the club, waiting until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly several months.
“I had quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like almost another setback and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, developing a formidable understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season just as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” the player said recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, keep enjoying football, improving day on day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
