When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That prediction turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his maiden summons to the full England squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a true blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, let alone featuring in the top division and representing England as well,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed completely for me and my family.”
But in what way did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Developing in the lower tiers
His football journey has not been a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, leaving school early each Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they released him. The Cherries gave Scott an option and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he opted to remain on the island and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my mates at weekends because I had missed almost four and a half years of doing that. To have that little bit of youth back was something I really required.
“To gain some self-belief by coming back and playing island football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial factors that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian 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 his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking his development after an impressive beginning in adult football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” said the player. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I played for his local side in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored 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 making his first-team debut against the Hatters.
He made 83 league outings for the club while in his teens, frequently being used as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s best young player honour, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for his country and I think he’ll go on to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Within 90 days after, he signed for the Cherries for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
The midfielder experienced a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.
His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost several months.
“I had a decent run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like almost another setback and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, developing a formidable partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season just as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” the player stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying the game, getting better day on day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
