When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That statement turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his first summons to the full England team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a proper blast from the past, a journey seldom seen in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, 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 transformed completely for me and my loved ones.”
So how did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, however, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to stay on Guernsey and turn out for his local team.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. To have that little bit of childhood again was a thing I really needed.
“Building a bit of confidence by coming back and playing 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 was introduced as a second-half substitute in their league fixture at the opposition.
“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 the coach stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s development after an promising beginning in adult football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said Scott. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
In just 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against Luton.
Scott went on to make 83 league outings for the club while in his teens, often being used as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was selected in the division’s best XI and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he’ll play for England and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at the club, remarked last year.
Less than three months later, he joined the Cherries for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
The midfielder endured a challenging debut campaign with the club, having to wait until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost four months.
“I had quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was almost another setback and it was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, developing a strong partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has begun this season equally as strongly for his club, featuring in every game to help them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” Scott stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a player, maintain my love for the game, getting better day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
