When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This statement proved to be something of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his maiden summons to the full England team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a true blast from the past, a story rarely told in the modern era.
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 playing for England too,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for myself and my family.”
So how did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has not been a conventional 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 island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer him an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he opted to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my friends at the weekend because I missed almost four and a half years of that experience. To have that slice of youth back was a thing I really required.
“To gain some self-belief by returning and taking part in island football was huge for me. It was probably one of the most important things that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their league match at the opposition.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s development after an impressive start in men’s football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” said the player. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
He made eighty-three league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being used as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – such was his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and national team playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s manager at the club, stated previously.
Within three months later, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder endured a difficult first season with the club, waiting until October 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 equally affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“I had a decent run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and it was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a strong understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season just as strongly for his club, playing in all matches to help them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, improving day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
