When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That prediction proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his maiden call-up to the full England squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a true throwback, a story seldom seen in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, never mind playing in the top division and playing for the national team as well,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s football journey has not been a conventional one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he opted to stay on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to chill at home with my friends at the weekend because I missed almost four and a half years of that experience. Getting that little bit of youth again was something I definitely required.
“Building some self-belief by coming back and playing local football was massive for me. It was perhaps one of the most important factors that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” manager the coach stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his development after an promising beginning in men’s football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” said the player. “The first day I joined the youth team, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
Within a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against the Hatters.
He made eighty-three league outings for the club while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Within three months later, he joined the Cherries for a understood fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
Scott experienced a difficult first season with the Cherries, waiting until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
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 last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“It was yet another setback and it was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, forming a formidable understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” the player said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a player, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and with luck I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
