Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This prediction turned out to be something of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his maiden call-up to the full Three Lions team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a proper throwback, a journey rarely seen in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the Premier League and playing for the national team too,” the player said previously.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?
Developing in non-league
His 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 fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they released him. The Cherries gave Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he chose to remain on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at home with my mates at the weekend because I missed almost several years of that experience. Getting that slice of youth again was something I definitely needed.
“Building a bit of confidence by returning and playing island football was huge for me. It was perhaps the most crucial factors that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their league match at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries 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 tracking Scott’s early progress after an impressive beginning in adult football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled Scott. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I was with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
Within 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus the Hatters.
He made 83 league appearances for the club while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s best young player award, was selected in the division’s best XI and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for England and I think he will progress to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at the club, remarked previously.
Within three months after, he signed for the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder endured a challenging first season with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost four months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“That felt like almost another setback and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to get himself fit 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 strong understanding in midfield with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season equally as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in every game to help them to fifth in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” Scott said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, improving day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
