Back when the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This statement turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his maiden summons to the full Three Lions team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a proper throwback, a story seldom seen in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, never mind playing in the top division and playing for England too,” the player stated previously.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for me and my loved ones.”
But how did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Learning in the lower tiers
His path in football has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he opted to stay on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my friends at weekends because I had missed almost several years of that experience. Getting that slice of childhood again was something I definitely required.
“To gain some self-belief by returning and taking part in local football was huge for me. It was perhaps the most crucial factors that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their league match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his development after an promising start in men’s football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” said Scott. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in London, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus Luton.
Scott went on to make 83 league outings for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he will represent England and I think he will progress to the top of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Within three months after, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
The midfielder endured a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost several months.
“There was a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like yet another setback and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a strong partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to help them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” the player said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, maintain my love for the game, improving day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
