When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This statement turned out to be something of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his first call-up to the full England team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a proper blast from the past, a story rarely told in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, never mind playing in the Premier League and playing for the national team too,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has been far from a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he opted to stay on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my friends at weekends because I had missed almost several years of that experience. To have that little bit of youth again was a thing I really needed.
“To gain a bit of confidence by returning and taking part in local football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial factors that led me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an promising beginning in men’s football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” said the player. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against Luton.
He went on to make 83 league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – such was his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.
With his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and national team playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s best young player award, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for England and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s manager at the club, remarked last year.
Within three months after, he joined the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
Scott endured a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to make 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 knee operation which sidelined him for almost four months.
“There was a decent run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like almost another setback and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, developing a strong partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has started this season just as impressively for his club, playing in all matches to guide them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my career,” the player said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying the game, improving day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
