When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This prediction turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his maiden summons to the senior Three Lions team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a true throwback, a journey rarely told in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, let alone playing in the Premier League and playing for England too,” Scott stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed completely for me and my loved ones.”
But how did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Developing in the lower tiers
His football journey has been far from a typical one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, 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 every week was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill 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 again was something I definitely needed.
“Building some confidence by coming back and playing local football was massive for me. It was perhaps the most crucial factors that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half substitute in their league fixture 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 stated 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 pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his development after an impressive start in men’s football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” recalled Scott. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the next day I was with the first team, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in London, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against Luton.
He made 83 league outings for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s young player of the season award, was selected in the division’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he will represent England and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Within three months after, he joined Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
Scott experienced a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost several months.
“I had quite a good run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like almost another setback and it was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, forming a strong partnership in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign just as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest 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 every day, and with luck I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
