When Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That statement proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his first call-up to the senior England team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a true blast from the past, a story rarely seen in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, let alone playing in the top division and representing the national team too,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have transformed completely for me and my loved ones.”
So how did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Developing in the lower tiers
His path in football has been far from a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, however, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer him an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Instead, he opted to stay on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my friends at weekends because I missed nearly several years of doing that. To have that little bit of childhood again was something I really required.
“Building a bit of confidence by returning and playing island football was massive for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important things that got me where I am today.”
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 Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an impressive start in adult football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled Scott. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I played for his local side in London, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against the Hatters.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, often being used as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the division’s best XI and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he will represent England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Within 90 days after, he joined Bournemouth for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
The midfielder endured a challenging first season with the club, having to wait until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being in and out of the team.
His following season 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 good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained 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 called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, forming a formidable understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has begun this season equally as impressively for his club, playing in every game to guide them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” the player stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, improving day on day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
