Back when the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This prediction proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his maiden summons to the senior Three Lions team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a true throwback, a story rarely seen in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, never mind playing in the Premier League and playing for England as well,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have changed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
But how did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has been far from a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave him an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed almost four and a half years of that experience. To have that little bit of youth again was something I definitely needed.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by coming back and taking part in local football was massive for me. It was perhaps the most crucial factors that led me where I am today.”
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 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 include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by islander their owner – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an impressive beginning in men’s football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled Scott. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I played for his local side in London, returned home and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. 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 versus Luton.
He made eighty-three league outings for the club while in his teens, often being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s best young player honour, was selected in the league’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at the club, remarked previously.
Within three months after, he signed for the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
The midfielder endured a challenging first season with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost four months.
“There was a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“It was almost another setback and it was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, developing a strong understanding in midfield with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign just as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to help them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” the player stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, keep enjoying football, improving day on day, and with luck I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
