When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That statement proved to be something of an underestimation.
Today aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his maiden summons to the full Three Lions squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the Premier League and playing for England as well,” Scott stated previously.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have changed completely for me and my family.”
So how did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
His football journey has not been a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, 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 every week was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my friends at weekends because I had missed almost four and a half years of doing that. To have that slice of youth again was a thing I definitely needed.
“Building some confidence by coming back and playing island football was huge for me. It was perhaps one of the most important things that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their league match at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” manager the coach commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an impressive beginning in adult football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled the player. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against Luton.
Scott made 83 league outings for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being used as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for England and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at the club, stated previously.
Less than three months after, he joined Bournemouth for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder experienced a challenging first season with the Cherries, having to wait until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“I had quite a good run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“It was yet another obstacle and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, developing a formidable partnership in midfield with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season equally as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my career,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, improving day on day, and with luck I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
