Back when Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This statement proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his first call-up to the full Three Lions squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a true throwback, a journey rarely seen in the modern game.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, let alone featuring in the top division and representing England too,” Scott stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed completely for me and my loved ones.”
But how did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Learning in non-league
His football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they released him. The Cherries gave Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my mates at weekends because I had missed almost several years of doing that. Getting that slice of childhood again was a thing I definitely needed.
“To gain some confidence by coming back and playing local football was massive for me. It was probably the most crucial things that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach commented at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his development after an promising start in adult football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“It was hectic,” recalled the player. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I was with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field 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 earning his senior debut against the Hatters.
He made 83 league outings for the club while in his teens, frequently being used as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he will represent his country and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the game,” his former manager, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Within three months later, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
Scott endured a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.
His second campaign was equally 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 last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and it was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, developing a formidable partnership in midfield with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign just as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to help them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” the player stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, improving every day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
