Back when Alex Scott made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This statement proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his first call-up to the senior England squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a true blast from the past, a story rarely told in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, never mind playing in the top division and representing the national team as well,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for myself and my family.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s football journey has been far from a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Instead, he chose to stay on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.
“All I desired to chill at home with my mates at weekends because I missed nearly several years of that experience. To have that slice of childhood again was a thing I definitely required.
“To gain a bit of confidence by coming back and taking part in island football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important things that led me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” manager the coach 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 pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking his early progress after an impressive beginning in adult football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“It was hectic,” said Scott. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just 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 club while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his ability to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for his country and I think he’ll go on to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at the club, remarked last year.
Within three months later, he joined Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
Scott experienced a challenging first season with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost several months.
“There was a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like yet another setback and it was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, forming a formidable understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign just as impressively for his club, playing in all matches to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” the player stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for football, getting better every day, and with luck I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
