Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That statement proved to be something of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his maiden summons to the full England team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a proper throwback, a story seldom told in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, never mind playing in the top division and representing the national team too,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s path in football has been far from a conventional one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth 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.
Instead, he opted to stay on the island and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my mates at weekends because I had missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. Getting that slice of youth back was something I really required.
“To gain some self-belief by coming back and playing local football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important things that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their league match at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his early progress after an impressive start in men’s football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” recalled Scott. “Day one I joined the youth team, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and by 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 deal.”
Within a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus Luton.
Scott went on to make 83 league outings for the club while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won 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 top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for his country and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Within 90 days later, he joined the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
The midfielder experienced a difficult first season with the club, having to wait until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost several months.
“There was a decent run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“It was yet another setback and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, forming a formidable partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as impressively for his club, playing in all matches to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a player, keep enjoying the game, getting better day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
