When Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This statement turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his first call-up to the full Three Lions squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a proper blast from the past, a journey seldom seen in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the top division and playing for England too,” the player stated previously.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has been far from a typical one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he chose to stay on the island and turn out 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 the weekend because I missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. Getting that slice of childhood again was a thing I definitely needed.
“Building some confidence by coming back and taking part in local football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important things 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 substitute in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” manager the coach commented at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his early progress after an promising beginning in adult football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” said Scott. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
Within 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against the Hatters.
Scott made eighty-three league appearances for the club while in his teens, frequently being used as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s best young player honour, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at the club, remarked last year.
Less than 90 days later, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
Scott endured a challenging debut campaign with the club, having to wait until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost four 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 he.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, developing a strong understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as strongly for his club, playing in all matches to help them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special moments of my career,” the player stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a player, maintain my love for the game, getting better day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
