Rising from non-league all the way to national team selection - who is the ‘Grealish of Guernsey’ Scott?

Back when Alex Scott made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”

This statement turned out to be something of an underestimation.

Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his first summons to the full England squad.

His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a true throwback, a journey seldom told in the modern game.

What’s next? A major tournament?

“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, let alone playing in the Premier League and playing for England as well,” the player stated in a recent interview.

“It has been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have changed drastically for myself and my family.”

So in what way did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?

Learning in the lower tiers

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

He was part of over four years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.

Before he turned 13, though, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books 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 becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.

“I just wanted to relax at my home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed almost several years of doing that. Getting that little bit of childhood again was a thing I really needed.

“Building a bit of self-belief by returning and taking part in local football was massive for me. It was perhaps the most crucial factors that led me where I am today.”

When he was just 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.

“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach commented at the time.

“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”

Making a comeback to the professional game

Championship side the Robins – chaired by islander their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an promising beginning in adult football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.

“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled Scott. “Day one I joined the youth team, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.

“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and by Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”

Within 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus the Hatters.

He went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, often being used as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.

With his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.

At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s best young player 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 think he’ll play for England and I think he will progress to the top of the game,” his former manager, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated last year.

Within three months after, he signed for the Cherries for a reported fee of £25m.

Getting his major transfer

Scott endured a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being in and out of the starting XI.

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

“I had a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.

“It was almost another obstacle and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first five months.”

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

He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, developing a strong understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.

And he has begun the current campaign just as strongly for his club, playing in every game to guide them to the top five in the table.

“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special moments 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 the game, getting better day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”