GREAT SCOTT

Alex Scott started his career making unusual adventures to the mainland with Guernsey FC - it led to a first England senior call-up in November, although the Covid pandemic could easily have dashed his hopes, as he explains to FFT

- Words Chris Flanagan

Sometimes in life, timing is everything. Alex Scott can attest to that.

Making it from the Channel Islands to the England men's squad is so difficult that no-one had done it for 31 years before Scott completed that journey in November, called up by Thomas Tuchel after his fine midfield performances for Bournemouth over the past two-and-a-half seasons.

Had the 22-year-old emerged 10 years earlier, his pathway might have been blocked. Back then, his home island of Guernsey didn't have a club playing in the English non-league system. Had he been just six months younger, the Covid pandemic would have struck before he could thrive for Guernsey FC in the Isthmian League as a 16-year-old and quickly earn a contract with Bristol City. Instead, he would have been frozen out of non-league football for 18 months at a crucial point in his development.

Thankfully for Scott, his timing was perfect. Having already triumphed at the Under-21 Euros last summer, he's now within touching distance of a first senior England cap, and the prospect of becoming only the third Channel Islander to make a Three Lions debut after Guernsey's Matt Le Tissier and Jersey's Graeme Le Saux both did so in the same game against Denmark in 1994. Scott's stepsister, Manchester United defender Maya Le Tissier, has already earned 12 Lionesses caps and proven that his dreams are possible.

Scott impressed so much for Bristol City in the Championship that he joined Bournemouth – a club that he'd briefly trained with as a youngster – for a huge £25 million in 2023, before flourishing during the ensuing years under Andoni Iraola in the Premier League.