Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That prediction turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his maiden call-up to the full Three Lions squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a proper blast from the past, a story seldom told in the modern game.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the top division and playing for the national team as well,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for me and my family.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Learning in non-league
His football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an option and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose to remain on the island and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my friends at weekends because I had missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. Getting that little bit of childhood back was a thing I definitely required.
“To gain some confidence by coming back and playing local football was massive for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial factors that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their league fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his development after an impressive beginning in adult football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” said Scott. “The first day I joined the youth team, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
Within a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus the Hatters.
Scott made eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, often being used as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
With his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s best young player honour, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for England and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Within three months after, he signed for the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder endured a challenging first season with the Cherries, waiting until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England 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 claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, developing a formidable partnership in midfield with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign just as strongly for his club, playing in every game to help them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” Scott stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, getting better day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
