When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This prediction proved to be something of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his maiden call-up to the full Three Lions team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a true blast from the past, a story rarely told in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, never mind playing in the Premier League and playing for England as well,” the player said previously.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have changed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
His path in football has been far from a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he chose 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 chill at home with my friends at weekends because I missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. Getting that little bit of youth again was something I really needed.
“Building some confidence by returning and playing island football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important factors that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker 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 trying to work out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” manager the coach commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an promising start in men’s football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled the player. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
In just 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
Scott went on to make 83 league outings for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was selected in the league’s best XI and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at the club, stated previously.
Within 90 days after, he joined the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
The midfielder endured a challenging debut campaign with the club, waiting until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being in and out of the team.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost several months.
“I had a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“It was yet another setback and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, developing a formidable understanding in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign just as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to help them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” Scott said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, getting better every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
