When Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That prediction proved to be something of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his first call-up to the senior Three Lions team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a true blast from the past, a journey seldom told in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the top division and representing the national team as well,” Scott stated previously.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for me and my loved ones.”
So how did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s football journey has not been a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer him an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to stay on the island and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at home with my friends at weekends because I missed nearly several years of doing that. To have that little bit of youth back was a thing I definitely needed.
“To gain some self-belief by coming back and playing island football was massive for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important factors that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their 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,” Guernsey boss the coach stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by islander their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s development 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 joined the youth team, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
Within a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against Luton.
He made 83 league outings for the club while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
With his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester 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 selected in the division’s team of the year and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he’ll play for his country and I think he’ll go on to the top of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at the club, stated last year.
Less than three months later, he signed for the Cherries for a reported fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
The midfielder endured a challenging first season with the club, waiting until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like almost another setback and the year was shaping up as 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 regain fitness for the tournament.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, developing a formidable partnership in the middle with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the first team with the national coach.
And he has begun this season just as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in every game to help them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” the player said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, getting better every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
