Back when Alex Scott made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That prediction proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his first call-up to the full Three Lions team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a proper throwback, a story seldom told in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, let alone playing in the top division and representing the national team too,” the player stated previously.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for myself and my family.”
But how did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s path in football has not been a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave him an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, 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 explained.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed nearly several years of doing that. Getting that slice of youth back was a thing I really required.
“To gain a bit of confidence by coming back and playing island football was huge for me. It was perhaps one of the most important factors that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, Scott made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their 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 way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s development after an impressive beginning in adult football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled the player. “Day one I joined the youth team, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in London, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus Luton.
He went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and England playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he will represent England and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at the club, stated previously.
Within 90 days after, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
The midfielder experienced a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost several months.
“There was a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like almost another setback and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first half.”
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 claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, developing a strong partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign just as strongly for his club, playing in every game to guide them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special moments of my life,” the player said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, keep enjoying the game, improving day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
