When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This statement turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his first call-up to the senior Three Lions team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a proper throwback, a story rarely seen in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the top division and representing England too,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for myself and my family.”
So how did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has not been a typical one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and play for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he opted to stay on Guernsey and turn out for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my mates at weekends because I had missed almost four and a half years of doing that. To have that little bit of youth again was something I really required.
“To gain a bit of confidence by returning and playing island football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial factors that led me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his development after an promising start in adult football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said the player. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
He made 83 league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.
With his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s best young player award, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for England and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at the club, stated previously.
Within 90 days after, he joined Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
Scott experienced a challenging debut campaign with the club, waiting until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost several months.
“There was a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like almost another setback and it was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, forming a formidable partnership in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to help them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special moments of my life,” Scott said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying the game, improving every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
