When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This statement turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his maiden summons to the senior Three Lions team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a true throwback, a story seldom seen in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, let alone featuring in the Premier League and playing for England too,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for me and my family.”
So in what way did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before he turned 13, though, they released him. Bournemouth gave Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose to remain on the island and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my friends at weekends because I had missed almost four and a half years of that experience. Getting that little bit of childhood again was a thing I really required.
“Building 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 to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance commented at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his development after an impressive start in adult football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said Scott. “Day one I joined the youth team, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
In just a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus the Hatters.
Scott made 83 league outings for the club while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s best young player award, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for England and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Less than three months later, he joined Bournemouth for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
The midfielder endured a challenging debut campaign with the club, having to wait until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“I had a decent run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and it was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, forming a strong understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign just as strongly for his club, featuring in all matches to guide them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” the player stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a player, maintain my love for the game, improving day on day, and with luck I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
