When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This statement proved to be something of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his maiden summons to the senior England team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a true throwback, a journey rarely told in the modern era.
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 England too,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for me and my loved ones.”
But how did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Developing in non-league
His path in football has not been a typical one.
He was part of over four years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave him an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he chose to remain on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my mates at weekends because I had missed almost four and a half years of doing that. Getting that little bit of childhood again was a thing I really needed.
“To gain some self-belief by returning and playing local football was huge for me. It was perhaps the most crucial things that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession 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 Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his early progress after an impressive beginning in men’s football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” said Scott. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the second day I was with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and by 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 contract.”
Within 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against the Hatters.
He made eighty-three league outings for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he will represent his country and I think he’ll go on to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Within three months later, he signed for the Cherries for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
Scott endured a difficult first season with the Cherries, waiting until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly several months.
“I had quite a good run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was yet another setback and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, forming a formidable partnership in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has started this season just as strongly for his club, featuring in every game to guide them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” the player stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, keep enjoying the game, getting better day on day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
