Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This statement proved to be something of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his maiden summons to the senior Three Lions team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a proper throwback, a story rarely seen in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, let alone playing in the top division and playing for the national team as well,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
So how did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
His football journey has not been a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before he turned 13, however, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer him 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 opted to remain on the island and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my mates at the weekend because I missed almost four and a half years of doing that. Getting that slice of youth back was something I definitely required.
“Building a bit of confidence by returning and taking part in island football was massive for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial 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 substitute in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring his development after an promising start in adult football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said Scott. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I played for his local side in London, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
Within 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus Luton.
Scott made 83 league appearances 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 flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and national team playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he will represent his country and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Less than three months after, he joined Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
Scott endured a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“I had quite a good run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and it was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, developing a formidable partnership in midfield with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started this season 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 life,” Scott said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying the game, improving day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
