Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This statement proved to be something of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his first call-up to the full Three Lions squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a proper blast from the past, a journey seldom told in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the top division and playing for the national team too,” the player said previously.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before he turned 13, however, they released him. Bournemouth gave Scott an option and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he opted to remain on the island and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my friends at weekends because I missed almost several years of that experience. Getting that slice of childhood again was a thing I definitely needed.
“Building a bit of self-belief by coming back and playing local football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial factors that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” manager 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 a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an promising beginning in adult football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said Scott. “The first day I joined the youth team, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
In just a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against the Hatters.
He went on to make eighty-three league outings for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and national team playmaker Jack 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 voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he will represent his country and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at the club, remarked previously.
Within three months after, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
Scott experienced a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost four months.
“There was a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and it was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, forming a formidable understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team under the national coach.
And he has started this season just as impressively for his club, featuring in every game to guide them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” Scott said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, getting better every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
