When the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This prediction turned out to be something of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his first summons to the senior Three Lions team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a proper blast from the past, a story rarely told in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the top division and representing the national team as well,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have changed completely for me and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
His football journey has been far from a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they released him. Bournemouth 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 chose to remain on the island and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. To have that slice of childhood again was something I definitely required.
“To gain a bit of confidence by returning and playing local football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important things that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their league fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an impressive beginning in adult football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled the player. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in London, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
In just 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus the Hatters.
He went on to make 83 league outings for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s young player of the season award, was selected in the division’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he will represent his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Less than three months later, he joined Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
The midfielder experienced a difficult debut campaign with the club, waiting until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“There was a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was yet another obstacle and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, developing a strong understanding in the middle with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign just as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to guide them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” the player said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, maintain my love for football, getting better every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
