Back when Alex Scott made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This prediction turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his maiden summons to the senior Three Lions squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a true blast from the past, a story seldom seen in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, let alone playing in the Premier League and playing for the national team as well,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for me and my loved ones.”
But how did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Learning in non-league
His path in football has not been a conventional one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Instead, he opted to remain on the island and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at home with my friends at weekends because I had missed almost several years of that experience. Getting that little bit of childhood back was a thing I really needed.
“Building some confidence by returning and playing island football was huge for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial things that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” manager the coach commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with 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 tracking Scott’s early progress after an promising beginning in men’s football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“It 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 surprise.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
Within 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, often being used as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – such was his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for his country and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at the club, remarked last year.
Less than 90 days after, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
Scott endured a challenging first season with the club, having to wait until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost several months.
“I had a decent run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a formidable understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side under 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 England senior team would be among the most special moments of my career,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, improving day on day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
