Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This prediction proved to be something of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his maiden call-up to the senior Three Lions team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a proper throwback, a story seldom told in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the top division and representing the national team 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 myself and my family.”
But in what way did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has not been a typical one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, however, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an option and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he opted to remain on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my friends at weekends because I had missed nearly several years of that experience. To have that little bit of childhood back was something I really needed.
“To gain a bit of confidence by returning and playing local football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important factors that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“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 Tony Vance stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an impressive beginning in adult football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” said the player. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I played for his local side in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus Luton.
Scott made eighty-three league outings for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s best young player award, was selected in the division’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I think he will represent his country and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at the club, remarked previously.
Within three months later, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
The midfielder experienced a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost four months.
“I had quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“It was yet another obstacle and it was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, forming a formidable partnership in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign equally as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to help them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my career,” the player stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, getting better day on day, and with luck I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
