Back when Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This prediction turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his maiden call-up to the senior England team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a true throwback, a journey rarely seen in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the top division and representing England too,” Scott said previously.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for myself and my family.”
So how did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early each Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he opted to stay on Guernsey and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my friends at weekends because I missed almost four and a half years of that experience. To have that little bit of childhood again was something I definitely needed.
“Building some self-belief 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, Scott became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an promising beginning in adult football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” recalled Scott. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in London, returned home and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to sign a contract.”
Within a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus Luton.
Scott made 83 league outings for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward 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 up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he will represent England and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Less than 90 days after, he joined the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder experienced a challenging first season with the Cherries, waiting until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a knee operation 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 broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was yet another setback and it was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, forming a formidable partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as impressively for his club, playing in every game to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” the player stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for the game, getting better every day, and with luck I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
