Back when Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This prediction turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his maiden call-up to the full England squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a true blast from the past, 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 top division and representing England too,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Instead, he opted to remain on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at home with my friends at weekends because I missed almost several years of doing that. Getting that slice of youth back was a thing I definitely required.
“Building a bit of self-belief by coming back and playing island football was huge for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important things that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an impressive start in men’s football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” recalled the player. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in London, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted 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 well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against the Hatters.
He made eighty-three league outings for the club while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he will represent 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.
Within three months after, he joined Bournemouth for a understood fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
The midfielder endured a challenging debut campaign with the club, waiting until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“There was a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a formidable understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign just as impressively for his club, featuring in every game to help them to fifth in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my career,” the player stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a player, keep enjoying football, getting better every day, and with luck I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
