🔗 Share this article

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, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”

This statement proved to be a bit of an understatement.

Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his maiden summons to the senior England team.

His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a true blast from the past, a journey seldom seen in the modern era.

Next stop? A major tournament?

“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the top division and representing England too,” the player stated in a recent interview.

“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed completely for myself and my loved ones.”

But in what way did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?

Learning in the lower tiers

Scott’s football journey has been far from a typical one.

He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.

Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.

Instead, he chose to stay on the island and turn out for his local team.

“My form had dipped and flying over every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.

“I just wanted to relax at home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. To have that slice of youth again was something I really required.

“To gain a bit of self-belief by returning and taking part in island football was huge for me. It was probably one of the most important things that got me to this point.”

At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.

“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented back then.

“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”

Returning to the pro ranks

Second-tier club the Robins – owned by islander their owner – had been monitoring his early progress after an promising start in men’s football and arranged a trial in late 2019.

“It was hectic,” said Scott. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.

“Midweek I featured for his local side in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”

Within a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus the Hatters.

Scott went on to make 83 league outings 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 flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.

Thanks to his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.

At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was selected in the league’s best XI and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.

“No doubt, I think he’ll play for his country and I think he’ll go on to the top of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at the club, stated previously.

Less than 90 days after, he joined Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.

Getting his major transfer

Scott endured a difficult first season with the club, having to wait until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.

His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly four months.

“There was quite a good run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.

“It was almost another setback and it was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first half.”

But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.

He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, forming a strong partnership in midfield with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.

And he has started the current campaign equally as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the standings.

“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” Scott said recently.

“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”