Back when Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That prediction turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his first summons to the senior England squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a true throwback, a journey seldom told in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, never mind playing in the top division and playing for England too,” the player stated previously.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have changed completely for me and my loved ones.”
But how did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has not been a typical one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave him an option and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose to stay on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was becoming a bit too much,” 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.
“Building a bit of self-belief by coming back and taking part in island football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial things that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by islander their owner – had been monitoring his development after an impressive beginning in adult football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled Scott. “The first day I joined the youth team, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
Within a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against the Hatters.
Scott made eighty-three league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.
With his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he will represent his country and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Less than 90 days later, he joined the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
Scott experienced a difficult debut campaign with the club, waiting until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost four months.
“I had a decent run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and it was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, forming a strong partnership in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign equally as impressively for his club, playing in every game to guide them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my life,” Scott stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, keep enjoying the game, improving every day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
