Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That statement proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his maiden call-up to the full Three Lions team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a true throwback, a story seldom seen in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, let alone playing in the Premier League and representing England too,” Scott stated previously.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have transformed completely for myself and my family.”
But in what way did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has been far from a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an option and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he opted to remain on the island and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at home with my mates at weekends because I missed almost four and a half years of doing that. Getting that slice of youth back was a thing I definitely required.
“Building some self-belief by coming back and playing island football was massive for me. It was probably the most crucial things that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their league match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking his early progress after an impressive start in adult football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” recalled the player. “The first day I joined the youth team, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in London, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
Within 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against the Hatters.
Scott made 83 league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.
With his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at the club, remarked previously.
Less than three months later, he joined the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder experienced a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost several months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was almost another obstacle and the year 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 regain fitness in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, developing a strong understanding in the middle with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign equally as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in every game to help them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” Scott said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
