Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That prediction proved to be something of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his maiden call-up to the senior England squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a proper blast from the past, a journey seldom seen in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, never mind featuring in the top division and representing the national team too,” the player stated previously.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed drastically for me and my family.”
So how did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
His path in football has been far from a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer him an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he opted to stay on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my mates at weekends because I had missed almost several years of that experience. To have that slice of youth again was a thing I definitely needed.
“Building a bit of confidence by returning and taking part in local football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important factors that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an promising beginning in adult football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” recalled Scott. “The first day I joined the youth team, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in London, returned home and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a contract.”
Within a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against Luton.
He made eighty-three league outings for the club while in his teens, often being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and England 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 named the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for his country and I think he will progress to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Less than three months after, he joined the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
The midfielder endured a difficult first season with the club, having to wait until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost several months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and it was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, developing a formidable partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season just as strongly for his club, playing in every game to help them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” the player stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, getting better every day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
