When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That statement proved to be something of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his maiden summons to the full Three Lions team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a true throwback, a journey rarely told in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the top division and representing England as well,” the player said previously.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for myself and my family.”
So how did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has not been a conventional one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose to remain on the island and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. Getting that slice of youth again was something I really required.
“To gain some confidence by coming back and taking part in local football was huge for me. It was perhaps the most crucial factors that led me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his development after an promising beginning in men’s football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said the player. “Day one I joined the youth team, the next day I was with the first team, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
In just 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against the Hatters.
He made eighty-three league outings for the club while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – such was his versatility 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 picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and England playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’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 game,” his former manager, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Less than 90 days later, he joined the Cherries for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the club, waiting until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost four months.
“I had a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was almost another setback and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – 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 the middle with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign just as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to guide them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” Scott stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying football, improving day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
