🔗 Share this article

When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”

That statement proved to be a bit of an understatement.

Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his first call-up to the full Three Lions team.

His rise from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a true throwback, a story seldom seen in the modern game.

Next stop? A major tournament?

“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, let alone featuring in the top division and playing for England as well,” the player said previously.

“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for me and my family.”

But how did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?

Learning in non-league

His path in football has been far from a typical one.

He spent over four years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.

Before he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer him an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.

Instead, he opted to remain on the island and turn out for his local team.

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

“I just wanted to chill at my home with my friends at the weekend because I missed almost four and a half years of doing that. To have that little bit of youth back was something I really required.

“Building some self-belief by coming back and taking part in island football was huge for me. It was perhaps the most crucial things that got me to this point.”

When he was just 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.

“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance stated back then.

“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”

Returning to the professional game

Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking Scott’s development after an promising start in men’s football and arranged a trial in December 2019.

“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled the player. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the next day I was with the first team, which was a total surprise.

“On the Wednesday I featured for his local side in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a deal.”

In just a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus Luton.

Scott made 83 league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.

With his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and England attacking midfielder 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 division’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.

“Without question, I believe he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the game,” his former manager, the player’s boss at the club, stated last year.

Within three months after, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.

Getting his major transfer

The midfielder experienced a difficult first season with the Cherries, waiting until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the team.

His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly several months.

“There was quite a good run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.

“That felt like yet another obstacle and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first five months.”

But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.

He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, forming a strong partnership in midfield with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side with the national coach.

And he has begun the current campaign equally as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to guide them to the top five in the table.

“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” the player said earlier this season.

“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, getting better day on day, and with luck I impress the England manager and get my chance.”