From non-league all the way to national team selection - the story of the ‘Grealish of Guernsey’ Alex Scott?

When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”

That prediction proved to be something of an underestimation.

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

His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a true throwback, a journey seldom seen in the modern game.

What’s next? The World Cup?

“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the Premier League and playing for the national team as well,” Scott said in a recent interview.

“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for me and my loved ones.”

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

Developing in non-league

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

He was part of over four years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and play for the club’s academy sides.

Before he turned 13, however, they released him. Bournemouth gave Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.

Rather, he chose to remain on the island and play for his local team.

“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.

“All I desired to chill at home with my mates at weekends because I missed nearly several years of that experience. Getting that little bit of youth again was a thing I definitely needed.

“To gain a bit of confidence by returning and taking part in local football was huge for me. It was perhaps the most crucial factors that got me to this point.”

When he was just 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 the opposition.

“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.

“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”

Making a comeback to the professional game

Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an promising start in adult football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.

“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled the player. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the second day I was with the first team, which was a total surprise.

“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in London, travelled back and by Friday, I played 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.”

In just 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against the Hatters.

Scott made 83 league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being used as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.

Thanks to his skill 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 England playmaker Jack Grealish.

At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was chosen 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 England and I think he’ll go on to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.

Less than 90 days later, he joined the Cherries for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.

Securing his major transfer

Scott endured a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the team.

His following season was equally affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost several months.

“I had a decent run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.

“That felt like almost another obstacle and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first five months.”

But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.

He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, forming a strong understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side under the national coach.

And he has begun the current campaign equally as impressively for his club, featuring in every game to guide them to the top five in the table.

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

“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying football, getting better every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”