When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This statement proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his maiden summons to the senior England team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a true throwback, a story seldom seen in the modern game.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the Premier League and playing for the national team too,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have transformed completely for me and my family.”
So how did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has not been a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they released him. The Cherries gave him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he chose to stay on the island and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my friends at the weekend because I missed nearly several years of that experience. Getting that little bit of youth back was a thing I really needed.
“Building some self-belief by coming back and taking part in island football was massive for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important things that led me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his early progress after an promising beginning in men’s football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“It was hectic,” said the player. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the second day I was with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
In just a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against the Hatters.
Scott made 83 league outings for the club while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
With his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and national team playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at the club, stated previously.
Less than 90 days later, he joined Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
The midfielder experienced a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost four months.
“I had a decent run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was almost another obstacle and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, forming a strong partnership in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season equally as strongly for his club, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, keep enjoying the game, getting better day on day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
