Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for 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 boy.”
This statement proved to be something of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his first summons to the senior Three Lions squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a proper blast from the past, a story seldom told in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, never mind playing in the top division and playing for England as well,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for me and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has been far from a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to remain on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my mates at the weekend because I missed nearly several years of that experience. Getting that slice of childhood back was a thing I really needed.
“To gain a bit of confidence by returning and playing island football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important factors that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach commented at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an impressive beginning in adult football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“It was hectic,” said Scott. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, 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 put pen to paper on a deal.”
Within a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against the Hatters.
He made 83 league appearances for the club while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position 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 nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s young player of the season award, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for his country and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s boss at the club, remarked last year.
Within three months after, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
Scott endured a challenging debut campaign with the club, having to wait until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost several months.
“There was a decent run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“It was almost another obstacle 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 U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, developing a formidable partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has started this season just as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to help them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, improving day on day, and with luck I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
