Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This statement turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his first call-up to the senior Three Lions team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a proper blast from the past, a story seldom told in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, let alone featuring in the top division and representing England too,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed completely for me and my family.”
So how did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott an opportunity 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 stay on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. Getting that little bit of childhood back was a thing I definitely needed.
“To gain some self-belief by returning and taking part in island football was huge for me. It was perhaps one of the most important factors that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his development after an impressive start in adult football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.
“It was hectic,” said the player. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus Luton.
Scott made 83 league appearances for the club while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – such was his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and national team playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s best young player award, was selected in the league’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at the club, remarked previously.
Within three months after, he signed for the Cherries for a reported fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
The midfielder endured a difficult first season with the Cherries, having to wait until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“There was a decent run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like almost another setback and it was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, forming a strong partnership in midfield with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team under the national coach.
And he has started this season just as impressively for his club, featuring in all matches to help them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special moments of my life,” the player stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for the game, getting better day on day, and with luck I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
