When the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This statement turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his maiden call-up to the full Three Lions squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a proper throwback, a journey rarely seen in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, let alone playing in the Premier League and representing the national team as well,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
But how did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has not been a conventional one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an option and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he opted to remain on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at home with my friends at weekends because I missed nearly several years of that experience. To have that slice of youth again was a thing I definitely needed.
“To gain a bit of confidence by returning and playing island football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial things that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his development after an impressive beginning in men’s football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said Scott. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a three goals. It was almost a done deal 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 making his senior debut versus Luton.
Scott went on to make 83 league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, often being used as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – such was his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the league’s best XI and was named the club’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for his country and I think he’ll go on to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Within three months later, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
Scott experienced a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost four months.
“I had a decent run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was almost another obstacle 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 managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, forming a formidable partnership in the middle with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as strongly for his club, playing in all matches to help them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special moments of my life,” the player stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a player, maintain my love for football, getting better every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
