Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That prediction proved to be something of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his first summons to the full England team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a true throwback, a story seldom seen in the modern game.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, never mind featuring in the top division and representing England as well,” the player said previously.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for me and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Developing in non-league
His football journey has not been a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before 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 mind wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose to stay on the island and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my friends at weekends because I missed nearly several years of doing that. To have that little bit of childhood again was something I definitely required.
“Building 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 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 league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by islander their owner – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an impressive beginning in adult football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“It was hectic,” said the player. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the next day I was with the first team, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against Luton.
He made 83 league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being used as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, 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’ll play for England and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Less than three months after, he joined the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
Scott experienced a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly several months.
“There was a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and it was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a strong partnership in the middle with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as strongly for his club, playing 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 career,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, getting better day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
