Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That prediction proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his first summons to the senior England team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a true throwback, a story seldom told in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, let alone playing in the top division and representing the national team as well,” the player said previously.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed completely for me and my family.”
But how did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Learning in the lower tiers
His football journey has not been a typical one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to stay on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed almost four and a half years of doing that. Getting that little bit of youth back was something I definitely required.
“Building a bit of confidence by coming back and taking part in local football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important factors that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their league match 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,” Guernsey boss the coach commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his development after an promising beginning in adult football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled the player. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the next day I was with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I played for his local side in London, travelled back and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. From that point a certainty 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 Luton.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, often being used as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for England and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at the club, stated last year.
Less than three months later, he joined Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
The midfielder experienced a challenging debut campaign with the club, waiting until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like almost another setback and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in 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, forming a formidable understanding in midfield with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign just as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to guide them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” the player said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for football, getting better day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
