When Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That prediction turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his maiden call-up to the full Three Lions squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a true throwback, a journey seldom seen in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, let alone featuring in the top division and representing the national team too,” Scott said previously.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
So how did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s football journey has not been a conventional one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer him an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he opted to stay on the island and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. To have that little bit of youth again was something I definitely needed.
“Building some confidence by returning and playing island football was huge for me. It was probably the most crucial factors that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his early progress after an promising beginning in adult football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” said the player. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
In just 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against the Hatters.
He made 83 league outings for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being used as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
With his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Within 90 days later, he joined the Cherries for a understood fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
Scott endured a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being in and out of the team.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost four months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“That felt like yet another setback and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, forming a strong understanding in midfield with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season equally as impressively for his club, featuring in all matches to help them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” Scott said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, getting better day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
