When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This statement turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his first summons to the full Three Lions squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a proper blast from the past, a journey seldom told in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, let alone featuring in the Premier League and representing the national team too,” Scott said previously.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for myself and my family.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Learning in non-league
His football journey has not been a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to remain on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my friends at weekends because I missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. Getting that slice of childhood back was a thing I really required.
“To gain a bit of confidence by coming back and taking part in local football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial things that led me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” manager the coach commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking his development after an impressive beginning in men’s football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” recalled Scott. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
Within 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against Luton.
Scott made eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward 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 up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and England playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was chosen 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 pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at the club, stated last year.
Less than 90 days later, he signed for the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder endured a difficult first season with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“There was a decent run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like almost another setback and it was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, forming a formidable partnership in midfield with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season just as impressively for his club, featuring in every game to guide them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” Scott stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying football, getting better every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
