When the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This statement proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular 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 proper throwback, a story seldom told in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, never mind playing in the top division and playing for the national team as well,” Scott said previously.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for myself and my family.”
So how did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s football journey has not been a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave him an option and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he chose to remain on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed almost four and a half years of that experience. Getting that slice of youth back was something I really required.
“Building some confidence by returning and taking part in island football was massive for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial things that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, Scott made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” manager the coach commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an promising start in men’s football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said Scott. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored 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 well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against the Hatters.
Scott made eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being used as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was selected in the division’s best XI and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for England and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at the club, stated previously.
Less than 90 days after, he joined Bournemouth for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
Scott endured a difficult first season with the Cherries, having to wait until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost four months.
“I had a decent run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was almost another obstacle 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 matches as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, forming a formidable understanding in midfield with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season just as impressively for his club, playing in every game to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special moments of my career,” Scott said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying football, improving every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
