Back when Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This prediction proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his first call-up to the full England squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a true blast from the past, a story seldom told in the modern game.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the top division and playing for England too,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for myself and my family.”
But 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 starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they released him. The Cherries gave him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to remain on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my mates at the weekend because I missed nearly several years of doing that. To have that slice of youth again was a thing I really required.
“To gain a bit of confidence by coming back and taking part in island football was huge for me. It was perhaps the most crucial factors that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their league match 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.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring his development after an promising start in men’s football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” said Scott. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for his local side in London, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus the Hatters.
He made 83 league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being used as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his skill 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 Manchester City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for his country 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.
Within 90 days after, he joined Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
The midfielder experienced a difficult debut campaign with the club, having to wait until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being in and out of the team.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost several months.
“I had quite a good run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“It was yet another setback and it was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, forming a strong understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign equally as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special moments of my career,” the player stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying the game, improving day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
