When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That prediction turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his maiden summons to the senior Three Lions squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a true blast from the past, a story rarely seen in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, never mind featuring in the Premier League and representing the national team as well,” the player said previously.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has not been a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before he turned 13, however, 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 heart was not in it.
Instead, he opted to remain on the island and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my friends at weekends because I missed almost several years of doing that. Getting that little bit of childhood again was something I really required.
“To gain a bit of confidence by returning and taking part in local football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial things that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their league fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an promising beginning in men’s football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” said Scott. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I featured for his local side in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus the Hatters.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being used as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth 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 nod to City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s best young player honour, was selected in the league’s best XI and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he’ll play for England and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Less than 90 days later, he joined the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
Scott experienced a difficult first season with the club, waiting until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being in and out of the team.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“There was a decent run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“It was almost another obstacle and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, developing a strong partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the first team with the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign just as impressively for his club, playing in all matches to help them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” Scott said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, getting better day on day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
