From grassroots to national team call-up - the story of ‘Guernsey Grealish’ Scott?

When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”

That statement proved to be a bit of an underestimation.

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

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

Next stop? A major tournament?

“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, never mind playing in the Premier League and representing the national team too,” Scott stated previously.

“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have transformed completely for myself and my family.”

So in what way did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?

Learning in non-league

His football journey has been far from a conventional one.

He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.

Before he turned 13, however, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.

Rather, he opted to stay on the island and turn out for his hometown club.

“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.

“I just wanted to chill at my home with my mates at weekends because I missed almost four and a half years of that experience. Getting that slice of youth again was a thing I really needed.

“Building some self-belief by coming back and taking part in island football was massive for me. It was probably the most crucial things that got me where I am today.”

At the age of 16, Scott became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.

“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance commented back then.

“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”

Making a comeback to the pro ranks

Championship side Bristol City – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his early progress after an promising start in adult football and gave him a trial in December 2019.

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

“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a three goals. 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 senior debut versus Luton.

He made eighty-three league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, often being used as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.

Thanks to his ability to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘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 EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the league’s best XI and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.

“No doubt, I believe he will represent his country and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.

Within 90 days after, he signed for the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of £25m.

Getting his big move

The midfielder experienced a difficult first season with the Cherries, having to wait until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being in and out of the team.

His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost several months.

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

“That felt like yet another obstacle and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first half.”

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

He started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, forming a formidable partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the first team with the national coach.

And he has begun the current campaign just as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to help them to the top five in the table.

“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” the player said recently.

“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, keep enjoying the game, improving day on day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”