When Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best 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 playmaker has just received his first call-up to the full England team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a true throwback, a story rarely seen in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, never mind playing in the Premier League and playing for England too,” Scott stated previously.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
So how did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Learning in non-league
His path in football has not been a conventional one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to remain on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed almost several years of that experience. To have that little bit of childhood back was something I definitely required.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by returning and taking part in local football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial things that led me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by islander their owner – had been tracking Scott’s development after an impressive start in men’s football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said Scott. “Day one I joined the youth team, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and by Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
Within a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus Luton.
He made eighty-three league appearances for the club while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – 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 rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and England playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s best young player honour, was selected in the league’s best XI and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for England and I think he will progress to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at the club, remarked last year.
Within three months later, he joined Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
Scott endured a difficult first season with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“There was a decent run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“It was almost another setback and it was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first half.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, developing a strong partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has started this season 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 said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
