Back when Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That statement turned out to be something of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his first summons to the full Three Lions team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a proper throwback, a journey rarely told in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, never mind playing in the top division and representing the national team as well,” the player stated previously.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
So how did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has not been a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, leaving school early each Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, however, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer him an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to stay on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my friends at weekends because I missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. To have that slice of youth again was a thing I definitely needed.
“Building some confidence by coming back and taking part in local football was massive for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial things that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, Scott made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss 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 pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – chaired by islander their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an promising beginning in adult football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled the player. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
Within 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus Luton.
Scott went on to make 83 league outings for the club while still a teenager, often being used as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the league’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 think he will progress to the top of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Less than 90 days after, he joined the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
The midfielder endured a challenging first season with the club, waiting until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly several months.
“I had quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“It was yet another obstacle and it was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, forming a strong partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as impressively for his club, featuring in all matches to help them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” Scott said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
