Back when Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That prediction turned out 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 full Three Lions team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a proper throwback, a story rarely told in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, let alone playing in the Premier League and playing for the national team as well,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?
Developing in non-league
His path in football has not been a conventional 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 play for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he opted to remain on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my mates at the weekend because I missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. To have that little bit of youth again was a thing I really needed.
“Building some confidence by returning and playing local football was huge for me. It was perhaps one of the most important factors that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their league fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – chaired by islander their owner – had been monitoring his development after an promising start in adult football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” said the player. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the second day I was with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus Luton.
Scott made 83 league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being used as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and England playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for England and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at the club, remarked last year.
Less than 90 days later, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
The midfielder experienced a difficult first season with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost four months.
“There was a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up 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 claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, developing a strong partnership in the middle with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season equally as impressively for his club, featuring in all matches to help them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special moments of my life,” Scott stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a player, maintain my love for football, getting better every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
