Back when the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This statement turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his maiden call-up to the full England squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a true throwback, a journey seldom told in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, never mind featuring in the Premier League and playing for England too,” Scott stated previously.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
So how did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Developing in non-league
His football journey has not been a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he chose to stay on Guernsey and turn out for his local team.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my mates at weekends because I had missed almost several years of that experience. To have that little bit of youth again was something I really needed.
“Building a bit of self-belief by coming back and taking part in local 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, Scott made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an promising beginning in men’s football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” said Scott. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus Luton.
Scott made 83 league outings for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being used as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – such was his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he will represent England and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Less than 90 days after, he signed for the Cherries for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
Scott endured a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost four months.
“I had a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like yet another setback and it was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a strong partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the first team under the national coach.
And he has started this season equally as strongly for his club, playing in every game to help them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my life,” Scott said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying football, getting better day on day, and with luck I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
