Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This prediction turned out to be something of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his maiden call-up to the full Three Lions squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a true throwback, a story rarely told in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, let alone playing in the Premier League and representing the national team too,” Scott said previously.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for myself and my family.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
His football journey has not been a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air 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 his 13th birthday, though, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he chose to remain on the island and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my mates at weekends because I had missed almost four and a half years of that experience. To have that little bit of childhood back was a thing I really needed.
“Building a bit of confidence by returning and taking part in island football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial things that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced 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 team because he’s that good,” manager the coach stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his development after an promising beginning in men’s football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled the player. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back 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 a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
He went on to make 83 league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being used as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position 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 ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s young player of the season award, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for his country and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Less than 90 days after, he joined Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was almost another setback and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, developing a strong understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side under 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 table.
“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, keep enjoying the game, getting better every day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
