Back when Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This statement proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his maiden call-up to the senior Three Lions team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a proper throwback, a journey rarely told in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, never mind featuring in the top division and representing the national team as well,” Scott stated previously.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
His path in football has not been a typical one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my mates at the weekend because I missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. Getting that little bit of youth again was a thing I definitely needed.
“Building some confidence by returning and playing island football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial factors that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an promising beginning in adult football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said Scott. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in London, returned home and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
In just a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus Luton.
Scott went on to make 83 league outings for the Robins while in his teens, often being used as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward 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 skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and national team playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s best young player honour, was selected in the league’s best XI and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he will represent his country and I think he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Within 90 days after, he joined Bournemouth for a understood fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
Scott endured a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“There was a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“That felt like yet another setback and it was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, developing a strong understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the first team with the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in every game to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” Scott stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, improving day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
