Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That statement turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his maiden summons to the senior England team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a true blast from the past, a journey seldom seen in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, never mind featuring in the top division and representing England too,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have transformed completely for myself and my family.”
So in what way did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Developing in non-league
His football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and play for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they released him. The Cherries gave Scott 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 Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my mates at weekends because I missed nearly several years of doing that. To have that slice of youth back was something I really required.
“Building some confidence by coming back and playing island football was massive for me. It was perhaps the most crucial things that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring 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,” said the player. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the next day I was with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I played for his local side in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
In just a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
He went on to make 83 league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being used as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was voted 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 pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, the player’s boss at the club, stated previously.
Within 90 days later, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
The midfielder endured a difficult first season with the club, waiting until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being in and out of the team.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“I had quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“It was almost another obstacle and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, forming a formidable understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign equally as impressively for his club, playing in all matches to help them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special moments of my life,” Scott said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, improving day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
