Back when Alex Scott made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That prediction proved to be something of an underestimation.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his first call-up to the senior Three Lions team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a true blast from the past, a story rarely told in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, never mind playing in the Premier League and playing for the national team as well,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed drastically for me and my family.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s path in football has been far from a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose to remain on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over every week was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my friends at weekends because I missed nearly several years of that experience. Getting that little bit of youth again was a thing I definitely required.
“To gain a bit of confidence by coming back and taking part in local football was massive for me. It was probably the most crucial factors that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” manager the coach commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen 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 Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring his early progress after an promising start in adult football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled Scott. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
In just 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against the Hatters.
He made 83 league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he will represent his country and I think he will progress to the top of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at the club, remarked last year.
Within 90 days later, he joined the Cherries for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
The midfielder endured a challenging first season with the Cherries, having to wait until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost four months.
“I had a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was almost another obstacle and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, developing a formidable understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, 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 help them to fifth in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” the player stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for football, getting better every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
