Back when Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That prediction proved to be something of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his maiden call-up to the full England team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a proper blast from the past, a journey seldom told in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, let alone featuring in the top division and playing for England as well,” Scott stated previously.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
So how did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
His football journey has been far from a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school every 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 his 13th birthday, though, 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 remain on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to chill at home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. To have that slice of youth back was a thing I definitely needed.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by returning and playing island football was huge for me. It was perhaps the most crucial factors that led me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” manager the coach commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his early progress after an impressive beginning in men’s football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” said the player. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against the Hatters.
He made 83 league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role 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 nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he will represent his country and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, the player’s boss at the club, remarked last year.
Within three months later, he joined the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
Scott experienced a challenging debut campaign with the club, having to wait until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being in and out of the team.
His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“There was a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“It was yet another obstacle and it was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, forming a strong understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign equally as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to help them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” Scott said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, getting better every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
