When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This statement turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his first call-up to the full England squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a proper throwback, a story seldom told in the modern game.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, let alone playing in the Premier League and representing the national team as well,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have changed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has been far from a typical one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they released him. Bournemouth gave him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he opted to stay on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed nearly several years of doing that. To have that slice of youth again was something I really needed.
“Building a bit of confidence by coming back and taking part in local football was massive for me. It was perhaps the most crucial things that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their league fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having 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 at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – owned by islander their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an impressive start in men’s football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” said the player. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
Within 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
Scott went on to make 83 league appearances for the club while in his teens, often being used as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he will represent England and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, the player’s manager at the club, remarked previously.
Less than three months after, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
The midfielder endured a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“There was a decent run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like yet another setback and the year 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 managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, forming a formidable understanding in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign equally as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” Scott said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, improving day on day, and with luck I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
