When the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That statement proved to be something of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his first call-up to the senior England team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, let alone playing in the top division and representing England as well,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
But how did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has not been 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 home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they released him. The Cherries gave Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he opted to stay on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed nearly several years of doing that. Getting that slice of youth back was something I definitely required.
“To gain a bit of confidence by returning and taking part in local football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important factors 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 came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their league match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the team because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his development after an promising beginning in men’s football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” said the player. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the second day I was with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against Luton.
He made 83 league outings for the club while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and national team playmaker 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 league’s best XI and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he will represent his country and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Within three months later, he joined Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
Scott experienced a challenging debut campaign with the club, waiting until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, 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.
“There was a decent run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was yet another obstacle and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad 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 in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, developing a formidable understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign equally as impressively for his club, featuring in every game to help them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” Scott stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for the game, getting better every day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
