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 predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This prediction proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his first call-up to the full England squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a true throwback, a journey seldom told in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, never mind playing in the Premier League and representing the national team as well,” Scott stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Developing in non-league
His path in football has not been a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they released him. The Cherries gave him an option and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to stay on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my mates at the weekend because I missed almost several years of that experience. To have that little bit of youth back was a thing I definitely required.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by coming back and taking part in local football was massive for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important factors that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” manager the coach stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s development after an promising start in men’s football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” said Scott. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the second day I was with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
Within 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against Luton.
He went on to make 83 league outings for the club while in his teens, frequently being used as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the division’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at the club, stated last year.
Less than three months after, he joined the Cherries for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the club, having to wait until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being in and out of the team.
His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost four months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“It was almost another setback and it was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, developing a strong partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team under the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign equally as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to help them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” the player stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, improving day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
