Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That statement turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his first call-up to the senior England squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a proper blast from the past, a story seldom seen in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the top division and representing the national team as well,” the player stated previously.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
So how did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, however, they released him. Bournemouth gave Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose to remain on the island and turn out for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. Getting that little bit of childhood again was something I definitely required.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by returning and taking part in local football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial things that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an impressive beginning in men’s football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” said the player. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against the Hatters.
Scott made 83 league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.
With his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he will represent his country and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Within 90 days after, he signed for the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
The midfielder experienced a challenging debut campaign with the club, waiting until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.
His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“There was a decent run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“It was almost another setback and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, forming a strong understanding in the middle with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team under the national coach.
And he has begun this season equally as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to guide them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” Scott said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
