When Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That prediction proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his first summons to the full England team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a proper blast from the past, a story rarely seen in the modern game.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, let alone playing in the Premier League and representing the national team too,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed completely for me and my family.”
But how did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has been far from a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before he turned 13, however, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he opted to stay on the island and turn out for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my friends at weekends because I had missed almost four and a half years of doing that. Getting that slice of childhood back was something I definitely needed.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by coming back and taking part in local football was huge for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial factors that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” manager the coach stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an promising start in men’s football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“It was hectic,” said the player. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
In just 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus Luton.
Scott went on to make 83 league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s manager at the club, stated previously.
Less than three months later, he joined Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
The midfielder experienced a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“There was a decent run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first half.”
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 Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, developing a formidable understanding in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started this season equally as impressively for his club, featuring in all matches to guide them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special moments of my career,” Scott said recently.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a player, keep enjoying the game, getting better every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
