When Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That prediction turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his first summons to the full Three Lions squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a true throwback, a story rarely seen in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the Premier League and playing for the national team as well,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for me and my family.”
But how did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Developing in the lower tiers
His football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave him an option and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he opted to stay on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over every week was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed nearly several years of doing that. Getting that little bit of youth again was a thing I definitely required.
“To gain a bit of confidence by coming back and taking part in local football was massive for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important factors that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s development after an promising start in adult football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” recalled the player. “Day one I joined the youth team, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
Within a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against the Hatters.
Scott made eighty-three league outings for the club while still a teenager, often being used as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, 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 his country and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at the club, stated last year.
Within three months later, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
Scott endured a challenging first season with the Cherries, waiting until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost several months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like almost another setback and it was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, forming a strong partnership in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign just as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in every game to help them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, getting better every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
