When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This prediction turned out to be something of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his maiden call-up to the senior England team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a proper blast from the past, a journey seldom seen in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, let alone playing in the Premier League and playing for England as well,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have changed drastically for myself and my family.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s path in football has not been a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before he turned 13, though, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose to remain on the island and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed nearly several years of that experience. Getting that slice of childhood again was a thing I definitely required.
“Building a bit of confidence by returning and playing local football was huge for me. It was perhaps one of the most important factors that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian 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 he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance 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 monitoring his early progress after an impressive beginning in adult football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” recalled Scott. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
Within 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
Scott made eighty-three league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and England playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s best young player award, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was named the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for his country and I think he will progress to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at the club, remarked last year.
Less than three months later, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
Scott endured a challenging debut campaign with the club, having to wait until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost several months.
“There was a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and it was turning out to be 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 went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, developing a strong partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign just as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to help them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special moments of my career,” Scott said recently.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, getting better every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
