When the young midfielder made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This prediction turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his first summons to the senior England team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, let alone featuring in the Premier League and playing for England as well,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for me and my family.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
His path in football has not been a typical one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they released him. Bournemouth gave Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to stay on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. To have that slice of childhood back was a thing I really needed.
“Building some confidence by coming back and playing local football was huge for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important factors that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” manager the coach commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his early progress after an impressive start in men’s football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” recalled the player. “The first day I joined the youth team, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and on the 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 a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
Scott went on to make 83 league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – such was his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at the club, remarked last year.
Less than three months later, he joined the Cherries for a understood fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
Scott experienced a challenging first season with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“I had quite a good run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like yet another setback and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a formidable partnership in midfield with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started this season equally as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my career,” Scott said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, getting better every day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
