When Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That prediction turned out to be something of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his first summons to the full Three Lions squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a proper throwback, a journey seldom seen in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, let alone featuring in the Premier League and representing the national team as well,” the player stated previously.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
So how did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Developing in non-league
His football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s 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 train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he chose to remain on the island and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my friends at weekends because I had missed almost several years of that experience. Getting that slice of youth back was something I really needed.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by returning and playing island 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 most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their league fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking his early progress after an impressive beginning in men’s football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said Scott. “The first day I joined the youth team, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus Luton.
He made 83 league outings for the club while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season award, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Less than 90 days later, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
Scott endured a difficult first season with the Cherries, waiting until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost several months.
“I had quite a good run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like yet another setback and it was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, forming a formidable partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season just as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to help them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” Scott said recently.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for the game, improving every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
