When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This prediction proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his maiden call-up to the full Three Lions team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a true blast from the past, a journey seldom seen in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, never mind playing in the Premier League and playing for England too,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
But how did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s football journey has not been a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he opted to stay on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. Getting that slice of childhood again was a thing I definitely required.
“To gain some self-belief by coming back and taking part in local football was massive for me. It was probably one of the most important things that led me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” manager the coach stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by islander their owner – had been tracking his early progress after an promising start in men’s football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled the player. “The first day I joined the youth team, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
In just a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against the Hatters.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league outings for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being used as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for England and I think he will progress to the top of the game,” his former manager, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Less than 90 days later, he joined the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
The midfielder experienced a challenging first season with the Cherries, having to wait until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost four months.
“I had a decent run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“That felt like yet another setback and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, forming a strong understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign just as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to guide them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” the player said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, getting better day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
