When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That statement proved to be something of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his maiden summons to the senior Three Lions team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a proper throwback, a journey seldom told in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, let alone featuring in the Premier League and representing England as well,” the player said previously.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed drastically for me and my family.”
So how did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Developing in the lower tiers
His football journey has not been a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose to stay on the island and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed nearly several years of doing that. To have that little bit of childhood back was a thing I really required.
“Building some self-belief by coming back and taking part in island football was massive for me. It was probably one of the most important factors that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by islander their owner – had been tracking his development after an impressive beginning in adult football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said the player. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in London, returned home and by Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a three goals. It was almost 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 first-team debut versus Luton.
He made 83 league appearances for the club while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth 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 moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at the club, stated last year.
Less than three months after, he signed for the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
The midfielder experienced a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being in and out of the team.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost several months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like almost another setback and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, forming a strong partnership in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season equally as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to help them to fifth in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” Scott said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a player, keep enjoying football, getting better every day, and with luck I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
