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 prediction proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his maiden summons to the senior Three Lions team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a true blast from the past, a journey rarely told in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, let alone playing in the top division and representing England as well,” Scott stated previously.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for myself and my family.”
So how did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the mainland 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. Bournemouth gave 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 play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed almost several years of doing that. Getting that slice of youth again was a thing I definitely required.
“Building a bit of confidence by coming back and taking part in island football was huge for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial factors that led me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their league fixture 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,” manager the coach commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an impressive beginning in men’s football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled the player. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus Luton.
He went on to make 83 league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, often being used as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was voted the club’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, Scott’s manager at the club, remarked last year.
Within three months after, he signed for the Cherries for a reported fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
Scott experienced a challenging debut campaign with the club, having to wait until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost several months.
“There was a decent run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like almost another setback and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, forming a strong understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the first team with the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as strongly for his club, playing in every game to help them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” Scott said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
