When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This prediction proved to be something of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his first summons to the full Three Lions team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a true throwback, a journey seldom seen in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, never mind playing in the top division and playing for the national team too,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Developing in non-league
His path in football has not been a typical one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they released him. Bournemouth gave Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he opted to stay on Guernsey and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my friends at the weekend because I missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. To have that slice of youth again was something I really required.
“Building a bit of self-belief by returning and taking part in local football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important factors that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute 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 side because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach commented at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s development after an promising start in adult football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled the player. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I played for his local side in London, travelled back and by Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
Within 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against the Hatters.
Scott made 83 league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being used as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – such was his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Less than 90 days later, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the club, waiting until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“I had a decent run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was yet another setback and it was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, developing a formidable understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team under the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign just as strongly for his club, featuring in all matches to help them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” the player stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, improving every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
