Back when Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This prediction proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his maiden call-up to the full England squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a proper blast from the past, a journey seldom seen in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, never mind featuring in the top division and playing for the national team as well,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for myself and my family.”
But in what way did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Developing in the lower tiers
His path in football has not been a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, leaving school early every 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.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they released him. Bournemouth gave him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he opted to remain on the island and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my mates at the weekend because I missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. Getting that slice of youth again was something I really required.
“Building some confidence by coming back and taking part in local football was massive for me. It was perhaps one of the most important things that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – owned by islander their owner – had been tracking Scott’s development after an promising start in men’s football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said the player. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a total 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. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
In just 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against the Hatters.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen 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 his country and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Within 90 days later, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
Scott experienced a difficult debut campaign with the club, waiting until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“There was a decent run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like yet another setback and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, forming a strong partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as impressively for his club, featuring in all matches to help them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, maintain my love for football, improving day on day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
