When the young midfielder made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That statement proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his first call-up to the full Three Lions team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely told in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the Premier League and playing for the national team as well,” the player said previously.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed completely for me and my family.”
So how did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Developing in the lower tiers
His path in football has been far from a typical one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, 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.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my friends at weekends because I missed nearly several years of that experience. Getting that little bit of childhood again was a thing I really required.
“Building some confidence by returning and playing island football was massive for me. It was perhaps one of the most important factors that led me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an impressive start in men’s football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said Scott. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I played for his local side in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus the Hatters.
He made 83 league outings for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at the club, remarked last year.
Less than three months after, he joined the Cherries for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
Scott experienced a challenging debut campaign with the club, having to wait until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“I had a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“It was yet another setback and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, developing a strong partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has started this season equally as impressively for his club, featuring 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 career,” Scott said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for football, getting better every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
