When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans 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 aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his maiden summons to the senior Three Lions team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a proper throwback, a story seldom told in the modern era.
Next stop? 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,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have changed completely for me and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer him an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he opted to stay on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my mates at the weekend because I missed almost several years of doing that. Getting that slice of childhood back was something I really required.
“To gain a bit of confidence by returning and playing local football was huge for me. It was probably one of the most important factors that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“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 Tony Vance commented 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 pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring his development after an promising beginning in adult football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said the player. “The first day I joined the youth team, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for his local side in London, returned home and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
Within 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
Scott made 83 league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth 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 down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won 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 player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he will represent England and I think he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s boss at the club, remarked previously.
Within three months after, he joined the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder experienced a difficult first season with the club, waiting until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost four months.
“I had a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like yet another setback and it was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, forming a formidable partnership in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as impressively for his club, featuring in all matches to guide them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” Scott said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, improving day on day, and with luck I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
