When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That prediction turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his first call-up to the full England squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a true throwback, a journey rarely told in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, let alone featuring in the Premier League and representing the national team too,” Scott stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have changed completely for myself and my family.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Learning in the lower tiers
His football journey has not been a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Instead, he chose to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed almost four and a half years of that experience. Getting that slice of childhood again was something I really required.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by returning and playing island football was massive for me. It was perhaps one of the most important factors that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by islander their owner – had been tracking his early progress after an promising beginning in adult football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.
“It was hectic,” said the player. “The first day I joined the youth team, the second day I was with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I featured for his local side in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against the Hatters.
He went on to make eighty-three league outings for the club while in his teens, often being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled 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 campaign he won the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was selected 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 will progress to the top of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Less than 90 days later, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
Scott experienced a challenging debut campaign with the club, having to wait until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem 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 several months.
“I had a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“It was almost another obstacle and it was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, forming a strong understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.
And he has begun this season just as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” the player stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a player, maintain my love for football, getting better every day, and with luck I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
