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 back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That statement proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his maiden call-up to the senior England squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible international star 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 zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, never mind playing in the top division and representing England as well,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has been far from a typical one.
He was part of over four years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, 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 relax at home with my friends at the weekend because I missed almost four and a half years of that experience. Getting that slice of youth back was something I definitely needed.
“To gain a bit of confidence by coming back and taking part in local football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important things that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” manager the coach commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by islander their owner – had been monitoring his early progress after an promising start in men’s football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.
“It was hectic,” recalled the player. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
In just a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against Luton.
He made 83 league outings for the club while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at the club, stated previously.
Less than three months after, he signed for the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
Scott endured a difficult first season with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost several months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“It was almost another setback and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, developing a formidable partnership in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started this season just as strongly for his club, featuring in every game to help them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” the player stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, improving day on day, and with luck I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
