Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That statement proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his first summons to the senior England squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a proper blast from the past, a story seldom told in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, never mind featuring in the top division and representing England too,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for me and my family.”
So how did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Learning in the lower tiers
His football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Instead, he opted to stay on the island and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at home with my friends at the weekend because I missed nearly several years of doing that. Getting that little bit of youth back was a thing I really required.
“To gain some self-belief by coming back and taking part in local football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important factors that led me where I am today.”
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 replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – owned by islander their owner – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an impressive start in men’s football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said Scott. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against Luton.
He made 83 league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability 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 up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s best young player award, was selected in the division’s best XI and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he will represent his country and I think he will progress to the top of the game,” his former manager, the player’s boss at the club, remarked previously.
Within 90 days later, he joined the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
The midfielder experienced a challenging first season with the club, having to wait until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost four months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like yet another setback and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, forming a strong understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team under the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as strongly for his club, playing in every game to guide them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” Scott said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, improving day on day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
