Back when the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That prediction turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his maiden summons to the full Three Lions team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a true blast from the past, a journey rarely told in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, never mind featuring in the top division and playing for England too,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
So how did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s path in football has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they released him. Bournemouth gave him an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my mates at weekends because I missed nearly several years of doing that. To have that slice of childhood again was a thing I really needed.
“Building a bit of confidence by returning and taking part in island football was huge for me. It was perhaps one of the most important factors that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his development after an impressive start in men’s football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled the player. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
He went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the league’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for his country and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at the club, stated previously.
Less than 90 days later, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the club, having to wait until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost four months.
“I had a decent run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“It was almost another obstacle and it was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, forming a strong understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to guide them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special moments of my life,” Scott stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, getting better every day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
