When Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That prediction turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his first summons to the full England squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely told in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the Premier League and playing for England too,” the player stated previously.
“It has been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Learning in non-league
His path in football has been far from a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, 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 mind was not in it.
Rather, he opted to remain on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my friends at the weekend because I missed almost four and a half years of that experience. Getting that little bit of youth back was a thing I definitely required.
“Building some confidence by coming back and playing local football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial factors that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott became the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half replacement in their league fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an promising beginning in adult football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled the player. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I played for the youth team and scored 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, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
He made 83 league outings for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being used as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.
With his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and England playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the league’s best XI and was named the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for England and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Less than three months after, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
Scott experienced a challenging first season with the club, waiting until the autumn 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 equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“I had quite a good run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like yet another setback and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – 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 Slovakia, forming a formidable partnership in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has started this season just as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in every game 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,” the player stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, maintain my love for the game, improving every day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
