When Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This prediction proved to be something of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his first summons to the senior Three Lions squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a proper blast from the past, a story seldom told in the modern game.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, let alone featuring in the Premier League and representing England as well,” Scott said previously.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for myself and my family.”
But how did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has not been a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before 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 was not in it.
Rather, he opted to remain on the island and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed almost several years of doing that. To have that slice of youth back was a thing I really required.
“To gain a bit of confidence by returning and playing island football was massive for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important factors that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his early progress after an promising beginning in adult football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” said the player. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
Within 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against the Hatters.
He went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being used as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign 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 believe he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, the player’s boss at the club, remarked previously.
Within 90 days after, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
The midfielder experienced a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost several months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, developing a formidable partnership in the middle with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started this season equally as strongly for his club, featuring in all matches to help 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 recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, improving every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
