Back when the young midfielder made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This prediction proved to be something of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his maiden summons to the full Three Lions squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a true throwback, a story rarely told in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the Premier League and playing for the national team as well,” the player stated previously.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
But how did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Learning in non-league
His path in football has been far from a typical one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they released him. Bournemouth gave Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he opted to remain on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and flying over every week was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my mates at weekends because I missed almost several years of doing that. Getting that little bit of youth back was a thing I really required.
“Building some confidence by returning and taking part in island football was huge for me. It was perhaps one of the most important factors that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half replacement in their league match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an impressive start in adult football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” recalled Scott. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I featured for his local side in London, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to sign a contract.”
In just 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against Luton.
Scott made eighty-three league outings for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and England playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he will represent England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at the club, remarked last year.
Less than 90 days after, he signed for the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
Scott experienced a difficult debut campaign with the club, waiting until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being in and out of the team.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“I had quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“That felt like yet another setback and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in 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 understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the first team under the national coach.
And he has begun this season just as impressively for his club, 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 said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying the game, improving every day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
