Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This prediction proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his first call-up to the senior England team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a proper blast from the past, a story rarely told in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the Premier League and playing for England too,” Scott said previously.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have changed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s path in football has been far from a typical one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave him an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he opted to stay on Guernsey and turn out for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my friends at weekends because I had missed almost several years of doing that. Getting that slice of youth again was a thing I really needed.
“Building a bit of confidence by returning and taking part in island football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important things that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half replacement in their league match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring his early progress after an promising beginning in men’s football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled the player. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the second day I was with the first team, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against the Hatters.
Scott went on to make 83 league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being used as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – such was his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for England and I think he’ll go on to the top of the game,” his former manager, the player’s manager at the club, stated last year.
Within 90 days later, he joined the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
Scott experienced a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost four months.
“There was a decent run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured 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 Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, forming a formidable understanding in the middle with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has begun this season just as strongly for his club, playing in all matches to help them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” the player said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, getting better day on day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
