When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That prediction proved to be something of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his first summons to the senior England squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a proper throwback, a story seldom told in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, let alone playing in the Premier League and playing for the national team as well,” the player stated previously.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for myself and my family.”
So in what way did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
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 starting at eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, however, they released him. The Cherries 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.
Rather, he opted to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my mates at weekends because I had missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. Getting that slice of childhood again was something I definitely needed.
“Building a bit of self-belief by returning and playing local football was huge for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important factors that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their league fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s development after an promising beginning in men’s football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said Scott. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in London, travelled back and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
Within 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against Luton.
He made eighty-three league outings for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being used as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s best young player award, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he will represent his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Within three months after, he joined the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
Scott experienced a difficult first season with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn 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 just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“I had quite a good run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“It was almost another setback and it was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by the national team 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 games as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, forming a strong partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.
And he has started this season equally as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in every game to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my career,” Scott stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, getting better every day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
