When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That prediction proved to be something of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his maiden summons to the full Three Lions squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely told in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the top division and representing the national team too,” the player said previously.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed drastically for myself and my family.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has been far from a typical one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before he turned 13, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an option and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he chose to stay on the island and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my mates at the weekend because I missed nearly several years of doing that. Getting that little bit of childhood again was something I really needed.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by coming back and taking part in island football was huge for me. It was perhaps the most crucial things 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 league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach commented at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident 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 senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
Scott went on to make 83 league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and national team playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s best young player award, was selected in the division’s best XI and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for England and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s boss at the club, stated last year.
Less than three months later, he joined Bournemouth for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
Scott endured a challenging first season with the Cherries, waiting until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“I had quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“It was almost another setback and it was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, forming a strong understanding in midfield with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the first team under the national coach.
And he has started this season just as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to guide them to the top five in the table.
“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 player, keep enjoying the game, improving every day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
