Back when the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This statement proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his maiden call-up to the senior Three Lions team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the Premier League and playing for England too,” Scott said previously.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for myself and my family.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has been far from a conventional one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they released him. The Cherries gave Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to remain on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my mates at weekends because I had missed almost four and a half years of that experience. Getting that little bit of childhood again was something I definitely required.
“Building a bit of confidence by returning and playing island football was massive for me. It was perhaps the most crucial things that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s development after an impressive start in men’s football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled Scott. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I featured for his local side in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against the Hatters.
He went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – such was his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
With his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and national team playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s young player of the season award, was selected in the division’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Within 90 days after, he joined the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder experienced a difficult first season with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost four months.
“I had quite a good run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“It was yet another setback and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, developing a formidable understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign just as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches 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,” the player stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, improving every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
