Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This prediction turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his maiden summons to the full Three Lions squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a true throwback, a story seldom told in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, let alone featuring in the Premier League and representing England too,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have transformed completely for me and my loved ones.”
But how did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Learning in the lower tiers
His football journey has not been a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they released him. Bournemouth gave Scott an option and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he opted to remain on the island and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my friends at weekends because I missed almost four and a half years of doing that. Getting that slice of youth again was something I definitely required.
“To gain some confidence by returning and taking part in local football was huge for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial things that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his development after an promising beginning in adult football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said Scott. “The first day I joined the youth team, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
Within 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus Luton.
He made 83 league outings for the club while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.
With his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he will represent his country and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Less than three months after, he joined Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder endured a challenging debut campaign with the club, waiting until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was almost another setback and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, developing a formidable understanding in the middle with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season equally as impressively for his club, playing in every game to help them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” Scott said recently.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for the game, improving every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
