Back when Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This prediction proved to be something of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his first call-up to the full Three Lions team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a true blast from the past, a story rarely seen in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the Premier League and playing for the national team too,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed completely for me and my loved ones.”
So how did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has not been a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, though, they released him. Bournemouth gave him an option and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Instead, he chose to remain on the island and turn out for his local team.
“My form had dipped and flying over every week was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed nearly several years of doing that. Getting that little bit of childhood back was a thing I definitely required.
“Building a bit of confidence by returning and taking part in island football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important things that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach commented back then.
“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 pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – 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,” recalled the player. “Day one I joined the youth team, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
In just 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against the Hatters.
He made eighty-three league appearances for the club while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack 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 up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for his country and I think he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked 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 club, waiting until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost four months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“That felt like yet another setback and it was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, developing a formidable partnership in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.
And he has started this season just as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to guide them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special moments of my life,” the player said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, improving day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
