Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That prediction proved to be something of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his maiden summons to the senior England team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a proper blast from the past, a story rarely told in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the Premier League and playing for England too,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed drastically for me and my family.”
But how did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has not been a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they released him. The Cherries gave him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to stay on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed almost four and a half years of doing that. To have that little bit of childhood again was a thing I definitely required.
“To gain some confidence by returning and taking part in local football was massive for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important factors that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their 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,” manager the coach commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an promising start in adult football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said the player. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I played for his local side in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
In just a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against the Hatters.
He went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.
With his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was selected in the division’s best XI 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 pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s manager at the club, remarked previously.
Within three months after, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder experienced a challenging first season with the club, waiting until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“It was almost another setback and it was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
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 England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, developing a strong understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started this season equally as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to help them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” Scott stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for the game, getting better every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
