When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This prediction proved to be something of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his maiden summons to the senior England squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a proper throwback, a story seldom told in the modern game.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, let alone featuring in the top division and representing England as well,” Scott stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s path in football has been far from a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he chose to stay on the island and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.
“All I desired to chill at home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed nearly several years of doing that. Getting that little bit of childhood again was something I definitely needed.
“Building some confidence by coming back and playing local football was massive for me. It was perhaps the most crucial factors that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, Scott made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking his early progress after an promising beginning in men’s football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said Scott. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I featured for his local side in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
Within 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against the Hatters.
He made 83 league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and national team playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was named the club’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I think he will represent England and I think he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Less than three months later, he signed for the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder experienced a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost four months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“It was almost another setback and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, forming a strong partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign equally as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to help them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” the player stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for the game, improving every day, and with luck I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
