When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This prediction proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his first call-up to the senior England team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a proper blast from the past, a story seldom told in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, let alone playing in the Premier League and representing England as well,” Scott stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
But how did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s football journey 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, skipping school every Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott 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 chose to remain on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at home with my friends at weekends because I missed nearly several years of that experience. To have that little bit of childhood again was a thing I really needed.
“To gain some confidence by returning and taking part in island football was massive for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial factors that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half replacement in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his development after an impressive beginning in men’s football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” recalled Scott. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the second day I was with the first team, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I played for his local side in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against the Hatters.
He made eighty-three league outings for the club while in his teens, often being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s best young player award, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at the club, stated previously.
Within 90 days after, he signed for the Cherries for a understood fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
The midfielder endured a challenging first season with the club, having to wait until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“I had a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like yet another setback and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
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 England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, developing a strong partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started this season just as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” Scott said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, getting better day on day, and with luck I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
