Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That prediction turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his maiden call-up to the full Three Lions squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a proper throwback, a story rarely seen in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, never mind featuring in the Premier League and representing the national team as well,” the player said previously.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s path in football has been far from a typical one.
He spent 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 train and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he chose to stay on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed nearly several years of doing that. To have that little bit of childhood again was something I really needed.
“To gain some self-belief by coming back and playing local football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial 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 second-half substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” manager the coach stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an impressive beginning in men’s football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” said Scott. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“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 netted a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
In just a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
He went on to make 83 league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and England playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for his country and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Within 90 days after, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder endured a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost four months.
“I had quite a good run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, forming a strong partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign just as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to help them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” Scott stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, getting better every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
