Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This statement turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his first call-up to the full England team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a true blast from the past, a story seldom told in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, let alone playing in the Premier League and playing for England too,” Scott stated previously.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
But how did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s path in football has been far from a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. The Cherries 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 heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to remain on the island and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my friends at weekends because I missed nearly several years of that experience. Getting that little bit of youth again was a thing I definitely required.
“To gain a bit of confidence by coming back and taking part in local football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial things that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their league fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his early progress after an impressive beginning in adult football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled Scott. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
In just 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against the Hatters.
Scott made eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
With his ability to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he will represent his country and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Within three months after, he joined the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
Scott endured a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost four months.
“There was a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and it was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, forming a strong partnership in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign just as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to help them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” the player stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, getting better day on day, and with luck I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
