When the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This prediction proved to be something of an understatement.
Now 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 ascent from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, let alone playing in the Premier League and playing for the national team as well,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
So how did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has been far from a typical one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast 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 time, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Instead, he chose to stay on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my mates at the weekend because I missed almost several years of doing that. Getting that slice of youth back was something I definitely needed.
“Building a bit of confidence by returning and playing island football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important factors that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by islander their owner – had been tracking his development after an impressive start in men’s football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said the player. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the next day I was with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
In just 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
He made eighty-three league outings for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – such was his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and national team playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s best young player award, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he will represent his country and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at the club, stated last year.
Within three months after, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
Scott experienced a challenging first season with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost four months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like yet another setback and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, developing a strong understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign just as strongly for his club, playing in all matches to guide them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” the player stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, getting better day on day, and with luck I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
