When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That prediction turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his maiden call-up to the full England squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a proper blast from the past, a story rarely told in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, never mind playing in the top division and representing England as well,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for me and my family.”
But in what way did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer him an option and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he opted 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 explained.
“All I desired to chill at home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed nearly several years of doing that. Getting that little bit of childhood again was something I definitely required.
“To gain some confidence by coming back and taking part in local football was massive for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial factors that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their league fixture at the opposition.
“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 possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by islander their owner – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an impressive beginning in adult football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled Scott. “The first day I joined the youth team, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
Within a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus the Hatters.
He made eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his ability to drive 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 playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was voted 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 top of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Within 90 days after, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
Scott endured a difficult first season with the Cherries, having to wait until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly several months.
“I had quite a good run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, forming a strong understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started this season equally as strongly for his club, playing in all matches to guide them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
