Back when Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That prediction turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his maiden call-up to the full Three Lions squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a proper throwback, a journey rarely told in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, never mind playing in the Premier League and playing for England as well,” Scott said previously.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have changed completely for myself and my family.”
So how did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s path in football has not been a conventional one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, though, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Instead, he chose to stay on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at home with my friends at weekends because I had missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. Getting that little bit of youth again was a thing I definitely required.
“To gain a bit of confidence by returning and taking part in island football was massive for me. It was probably one of the most important factors that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s development after an promising beginning in adult football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled Scott. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a contract.”
In just a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus Luton.
He made 83 league outings for the Robins while in his teens, often 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 their best player.
With his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and England playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Less than 90 days after, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
Scott experienced a difficult first season with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost several months.
“There was a decent run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was almost another setback and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, forming a strong partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team under the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as strongly for his club, featuring in all matches to help them to fifth in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my life,” Scott said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, improving day on day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
