When Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This prediction proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his maiden summons to the senior England team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a proper throwback, a story seldom seen in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, never mind playing in the top division and representing England as well,” the player stated previously.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for me and my loved ones.”
But how did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has not been a conventional one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he chose to remain on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and flying over every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed nearly several years of that experience. To have that slice of childhood again was a thing I definitely needed.
“To gain some self-belief by coming back and taking part in island football was huge for me. It was probably the most crucial things that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their league fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his development after an promising beginning in men’s football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” said Scott. “Day one I joined the youth team, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
In just a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against the Hatters.
He made 83 league outings for the club while still a teenager, often being deployed 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.
With his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and England playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s best young player honour, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was named the club’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he’ll play for England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the game,” his former manager, the player’s manager at the club, remarked previously.
Less than three months later, he signed for the Cherries for a understood fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
Scott endured a challenging first season with the Cherries, having to wait until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost several months.
“I had quite a good run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, developing a strong partnership in the middle with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the first team under the national coach.
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 career,” Scott stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, improving day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
