Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That statement proved to be something of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his first summons to the senior Three Lions team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a true throwback, a story seldom told in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the Premier League and playing for the national team as well,” the player stated previously.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have transformed completely for myself and my family.”
But how did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s path in football has not been a conventional one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he chose to remain on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at home with my friends at weekends because I had missed almost several years of doing that. Getting that little bit of youth back was something I really required.
“Building some confidence by coming back and taking part in island football was huge for me. It was perhaps one of the most important things 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 Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his development after an impressive start in men’s football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” said Scott. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the next day I was with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I played for his local side in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
Within 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus Luton.
Scott made eighty-three league outings for the club while in his teens, frequently being used as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s best young player award, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he will represent England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Within three months after, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
The midfielder endured a difficult first season with the club, having to wait until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly several months.
“I had a decent run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and it was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, forming a strong understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign just as strongly for his club, playing in every game to guide them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” the player stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, improving day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
