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

When Alex Scott made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”

That statement proved to be something of an understatement.

Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his first call-up to the senior England team.

His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a true blast from the past, a journey seldom told in the modern game.

What’s next? The World Cup?

“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the top division and playing for England as well,” Scott said in a recent interview.

“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed completely for myself and my family.”

But in what way did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?

Learning in the lower tiers

His football journey has been far from a typical one.

He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.

Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.

Rather, he chose to remain on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.

“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.

“All I desired to relax at my home with my mates at weekends because I missed almost several years of doing that. Getting that little bit of youth again was a thing I really needed.

“Building a bit of self-belief by returning and taking part in local football was huge for me. It was probably the most crucial things that led me to this point.”

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

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

“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”

Making a comeback to the pro ranks

Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring his early progress after an promising start in men’s football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.

“The whole experience was chaos,” said the player. “Day one I joined the youth team, the second day I was with the first team, which was a total surprise.

“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and by Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”

Within 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus Luton.

He made eighty-three league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.

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

By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.

“No doubt, I think he’ll play for his country and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.

Less than three months after, he joined Bournemouth for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.

Securing his big move

The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the club, waiting until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the team.

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

“There was a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.

“That felt like almost another setback and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first five months.”

But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.

He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, developing a strong partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.

And he has begun this season equally as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to help them to the top five in the table.

“Representing the national team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” Scott stated earlier this season.

“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for the game, getting better every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”