When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That statement turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his maiden summons to the full England team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a true blast from the past, a story seldom told in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the top division and representing the national team as well,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed completely for myself and my family.”
But in what way did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has been far from a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and play for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Instead, he opted to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed nearly several years of doing that. To have that slice of childhood back was a thing I definitely required.
“Building some self-belief by returning and taking part in local football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial factors that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession 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 – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his development after an promising start in men’s football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” recalled the player. “Day one I joined the youth team, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
In just 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against the Hatters.
Scott made eighty-three league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he will represent England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Within 90 days later, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
The midfielder endured a challenging first season with the club, waiting until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“It was yet another setback and it was shaping up as quite a terrible 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 for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, developing a strong understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign just as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to guide them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” Scott said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, getting better day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
