When Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That statement proved to be something of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his first call-up to the full England squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely told in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, never mind playing in the Premier League and playing for the national team too,” the player stated previously.
“It has been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for myself and my family.”
But how did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s football journey has been far from a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they released him. Bournemouth gave him an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose to stay on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to chill at home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed nearly several years of that experience. To have that little bit of childhood again was something I definitely required.
“To gain some confidence by returning and playing island football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial factors that got me to this point.”
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 replacement in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager 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
Championship side the Robins – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an promising start in men’s football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled the player. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a contract.”
In just a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus Luton.
He went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being used as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
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 reference to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was selected in the league’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at the club, remarked previously.
Within 90 days after, he joined the Cherries for a reported fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
Scott experienced a difficult first season with the club, waiting until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost several months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and it was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, developing a formidable partnership in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the first team under the national coach.
And he has started this season just as impressively for his club, featuring in all matches to help them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” the player said recently.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, getting better day on day, and with luck I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
