Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This prediction turned out to be something of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his first call-up to the full England team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a true throwback, a story seldom told in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, let alone playing in the Premier League and representing the national team as well,” Scott said previously.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
So how did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has been far from a typical one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before he turned 13, though, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he chose 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 recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my mates at the weekend because I missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. To have that slice of youth again was something I really required.
“Building a bit of 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.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their league match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an promising beginning in men’s football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled the player. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I featured for his local side in London, returned home and by Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
Within a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against the Hatters.
Scott made eighty-three league outings for the club while in his teens, often being used as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he will represent his country and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Less than 90 days later, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
Scott experienced a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being in and out of the team.
His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost four months.
“I had a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was almost another obstacle and it was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, forming a strong partnership in midfield with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the first team under the national coach.
And he has begun this season just 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 occasions of my career,” Scott said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying the game, improving day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
