From grassroots to England selection - who is ‘Guernsey Grealish’ Scott?

When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”

That prediction turned out to be something of an underestimation.

Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his first call-up to the full England squad.

His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a true blast from the past, a journey seldom seen in the modern era.

Next stop? The World Cup?

“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, never mind playing in the Premier League and playing for the national team as well,” Scott stated previously.

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

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

Developing in non-league

His football journey has not been a conventional one.

He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and play for the club’s academy sides.

Before his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer him an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.

Instead, he chose to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his local team.

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

“All I desired to chill at home with my friends at the weekend because I missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. Getting that slice of youth back was something I really required.

“Building some confidence by coming back and playing island football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important things that got me where I am today.”

When he was just 16, the teenager became the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.

“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance stated at the time.

“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”

Returning to the professional game

Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by islander their owner – had been tracking his early progress after an impressive start in men’s football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.

“The whole experience was hectic,” said the player. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the next day I was with the first team, which was a complete shock.

“Midweek I featured for his local side in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”

Within 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus the Hatters.

He went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.

Thanks to his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.

At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.

“Without question, I think he will represent England and I think he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.

Within 90 days later, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.

Securing his major transfer

The midfielder endured a challenging first season with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.

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

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

“That felt like yet another obstacle and it was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first half.”

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

He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, developing a formidable understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.

And he has begun the current campaign equally as strongly for his club, featuring in all matches to guide them to fifth in the table.

“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” Scott stated earlier this season.

“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, improving every day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and get my chance.”