When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That statement turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his first summons to the senior England team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, let alone playing in the Premier League and playing for the national team too,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have changed drastically for me and my family.”
So how did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
His path in football has been far from a typical one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott an option and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he chose to stay on the island and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my friends at the weekend because I missed almost several years of that experience. To have that slice of childhood again was something I really needed.
“To gain some confidence by coming back and playing island football was huge for me. It was probably the most crucial things that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half substitute in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an promising beginning in men’s football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” said the player. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in London, returned home and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
He made 83 league outings for the Robins while in his teens, often being used as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for England and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Less than 90 days later, he joined Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder experienced a difficult debut campaign with the club, having to wait until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“There was a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“It was yet another setback and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a strong partnership in the middle with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as impressively for his club, playing in all matches to help them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” Scott stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for football, getting better day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
