When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That statement proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his maiden summons to the senior Three Lions squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a true blast from the past, a story rarely seen in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, let alone featuring in the top division and playing for the national team as well,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for myself and my family.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s football journey has not been a typical one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they released him. Bournemouth gave Scott an option and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to stay on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my mates at weekends because I missed almost several years of that experience. Getting that slice of youth back was a thing I definitely required.
“Building a bit of confidence by coming back and taking part in local football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important 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 was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss 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.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – owned by islander their owner – had been monitoring his development after an promising beginning in men’s football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said the player. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the next day I was with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against Luton.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league outings for the club while in his teens, often being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth 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 picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he’ll play for England and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at the club, stated last year.
Within three months after, he signed for the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
The midfielder endured a difficult first season with the club, having to wait until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.
His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“I had quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was yet another obstacle and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, developing a formidable understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign just as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special moments of my life,” the player said recently.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, improving day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
