When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That statement turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his maiden call-up to the full England squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely told in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the top division and representing the national team too,” Scott stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
His path in football has not been a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they released him. Bournemouth gave him an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he chose to remain on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my mates at the weekend because I missed almost four and a half years of that experience. Getting that slice of youth again was a thing I definitely required.
“Building a bit of self-belief by coming back and taking part in island football was huge for me. It was probably the most crucial factors that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback 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 adult football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said Scott. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
Within 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against the Hatters.
He made eighty-three league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and national team playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for his country and I think he will progress to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at the club, remarked last year.
Within 90 days later, he joined Bournemouth for a reported fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder experienced a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“I had quite a good run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was almost another setback and it was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, forming a formidable partnership in the middle with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season just as strongly for his club, playing in every game to guide them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” the player stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, maintain my love for the game, improving every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
