Back when the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That prediction proved to be something of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his maiden call-up to the full England squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a true blast from the past, a journey rarely told in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, never mind playing in the top division and playing for England as well,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for myself and my family.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Developing in the lower tiers
His path in football has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott 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 chose to stay on the island and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed almost several years of that experience. To have that little bit of childhood again was a thing I really needed.
“Building some self-belief by coming back and playing local football was huge for me. It was probably the most crucial things that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by islander their owner – had been tracking his early progress after an promising start in men’s football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” said the player. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus the Hatters.
He went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, often being used as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was selected in the division’s best XI and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he will represent England and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at the club, remarked previously.
Less than 90 days after, he joined the Cherries for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
Scott experienced a challenging first season with the club, waiting until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost several months.
“I had a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like almost another setback and it was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a formidable understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign just as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to help them to fifth in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” Scott said recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, getting better every day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
