Back when Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This statement turned out to be something of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his first call-up to the full England team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a proper throwback, a story seldom seen in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“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 England as well,” Scott said previously.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have changed completely for me and my family.”
So in what way did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Developing in non-league
His football journey has not been a typical 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 the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they released him. Bournemouth gave Scott an option and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, 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 becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at home with my mates at the weekend because I missed nearly several years of that experience. Getting that little bit of youth again was a thing I definitely needed.
“To gain some self-belief by returning and playing local football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important things that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in the club’s records 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 figuring out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking his early progress after an impressive beginning in men’s football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled the player. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus the Hatters.
He made eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being used as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
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.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he will represent his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at the club, remarked last year.
Less than three months after, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder endured a challenging first season with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost four months.
“I had a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like yet another setback and it 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 went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a strong partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has started this season just as impressively for his club, playing in all matches to help them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” the player said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for the game, getting better day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
