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

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

This prediction proved to be something of an understatement.

Today aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his maiden call-up to the senior Three Lions team.

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

Next stop? The World Cup?

“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, never mind playing in the Premier League and playing for the national team too,” the player said previously.

“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have transformed completely for me and my loved ones.”

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

Developing in the lower tiers

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

He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.

Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.

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

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

“I just wanted to chill at my home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. Getting that little bit of youth back was something I really required.

“To gain a bit of confidence by coming back and taking part in island football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important things that got me where I am today.”

At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their league match at the opposition.

“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance stated at the time.

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

Making a comeback to the professional game

Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by islander their owner – had been monitoring his early progress after an impressive beginning in men’s football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.

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

“Midweek I featured for his local side in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”

In just a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against Luton.

Scott went on to make 83 league outings for the club while in his teens, frequently being used as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – such was his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.

With his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.

By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the division’s best XI and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.

“No doubt, I think he’ll play for his country and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, the player’s manager at the club, remarked last year.

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

Getting his major transfer

Scott experienced a challenging first season with the club, waiting until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being in and out of the starting XI.

His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost four months.

“I had quite a good run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.

“It was almost another setback and it was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first five months.”

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

He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, developing a formidable partnership in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.

And he has begun this season just as strongly for his club, featuring in every game to help them to fifth in the table.

“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” Scott said recently.

“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, getting better every day, and with luck I impress the national coach and get my chance.”