'We are fearless - opportunities are tough to come by, so we take them'

Alex Scott may no longer be the 'Guernsey Grealish' but a deeper role at Bournemouth has led to a first senior call-up

- David Hytner

There was a time, as Alex Scott made his name at Bristol City, when he was known affectionately as the “Guernsey Grealish”.

It was the hairstyle, the low socks, the sense of adventure about his midfield play. As Scott puts it, the club’s manager, Nigel Pearson, gave him “a lot of freedom to go out and almost do what I wanted”.

It changed after he made his £25m move to Bournemouth in the summer of 2023; there was a greater need for tactical discipline, for defensive responsibility. He became more of a No 8. So, less like an early years Jack Grealish, who is now on loan at Everton from Manchester City.

But as Scott reflects on his excellent form across the early months of the season, which has led to him winning his first call-up to the England squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Serbia at Wembley tomorrow and Albania in Tirana three days later, there is one bit of the nickname that will never change; the part relating to Guernsey, where he is from, which goes deep into his DNA.

The 22-year-old stands to become only the third Channel Islander to play for the England men's team after Matt Le Tissier, another son of Guernsey, and Graeme Le Saux, who is from Jersey. There is also Scott’s stepsister, Maya Le Tissier (no relation to Matt), who has 10 caps for the England women’s side and was a part of the squad that won the European Championship in the summer. What binds them is what they like to call the islander mentality.