When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This prediction proved to be something of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his maiden summons to the senior England squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a proper throwback, a journey seldom seen in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, never mind featuring in the top division and representing the national team as well,” Scott stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
So how did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
His path in football has been far from a typical one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early each Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an option and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he opted to stay on Guernsey and turn out 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 home with my mates at weekends because I had missed almost several years of doing that. To have that slice of youth back was something I definitely needed.
“Building some self-belief by coming back and taking part in island football was massive 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 most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half substitute in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen 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
Championship side the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an impressive beginning in men’s football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” said Scott. “The first day I joined the youth team, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a contract.”
In just 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against Luton.
Scott made eighty-three league appearances for the club while in his teens, frequently being used as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
With his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s best young player honour, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he will represent England and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at the club, stated last year.
Less than three months after, he signed for the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost four months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“It was yet another setback and the year was turning out to be 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 Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, forming a strong understanding in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign just as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in every game to guide them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” the player said recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying football, getting better every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
