Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That prediction proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his maiden summons to the senior England squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a true blast from the past, a journey seldom seen in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, let alone featuring in the top division and representing the national team as well,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for me and my loved ones.”
But how did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s football journey has been far from a typical one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave Scott an option and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to stay on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to chill at home with my mates at weekends because I had missed almost four and a half years of that experience. Getting that little bit of childhood back was something I definitely needed.
“Building some self-belief by coming back and taking part in local football was massive for me. It was perhaps one of the most important things that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring his development after an promising start in adult football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” said Scott. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the second day I was with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
In just 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus Luton.
Scott went on to make 83 league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was selected in the league’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Within 90 days later, he joined the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
Scott endured a challenging first season with the club, waiting until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly 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 the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, forming a strong partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as strongly for his club, playing in all matches to help them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, getting better day on day, and with luck I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
