Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This prediction turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his first call-up to the senior England team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a true throwback, a story rarely told in the modern game.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, never mind playing in the top division and representing England as well,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
But how did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Learning in non-league
His path in football has not been a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose to stay on the island and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at home with my friends at the weekend because I missed nearly several years of that experience. Getting that slice of youth back was something I definitely required.
“To gain some self-belief by returning and playing island football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial things that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an impressive beginning in men’s football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” said the player. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
Within 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus Luton.
He went on to make 83 league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was selected in the division’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Less than three months later, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the club, waiting until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost several months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“It was almost another setback and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, developing a formidable understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the first team with the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign just as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to guide them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” the player said recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, getting better day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
