Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This prediction proved to be something of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his first summons to the senior England team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a true throwback, a journey seldom seen in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the Premier League and playing for the national team as well,” Scott stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
So how did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has not been a typical one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he opted to stay on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and flying over every week was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at home with my friends at weekends because I had missed nearly several years of doing that. Getting that little bit of youth back was a thing I really required.
“Building some self-belief by returning 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, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his development after an impressive beginning in adult football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” said the player. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus the Hatters.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league outings for the club while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role 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 moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he will represent England and I think he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Less than three months later, he joined the Cherries for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
The midfielder experienced a difficult debut campaign with the club, having to wait until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“I had a decent run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was almost another setback and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, developing a formidable partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has started this season just as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to help them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” the player stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, maintain my love for the game, getting better every day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
