Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This prediction proved to be something of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his first call-up to the full Three Lions squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a proper blast from the past, a story seldom seen in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, never mind featuring in the top division and representing England too,” Scott said previously.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed completely for myself and my family.”
But how did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Learning in non-league
His path in football has been far from a typical one.
He was part of over four years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an option and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he opted to stay on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed nearly several years of doing that. To have that slice of youth back was a thing I definitely required.
“To gain a bit of confidence by returning and playing island football was huge for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important factors that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way 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 promising start in adult football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” said the player. “Day one I joined the youth team, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
Within a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against Luton.
Scott made eighty-three league appearances for the club while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was selected in the league’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I think he will represent England and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Within 90 days after, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
The midfielder endured a difficult first season with the club, waiting until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent 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 quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was almost another setback and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, developing a strong understanding in midfield with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign equally as impressively for his club, playing in every game to help them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” the player stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for football, getting better every day, and with luck I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
