Back when the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This statement turned out to be something of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his maiden summons to the full England team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a true blast from the past, a journey seldom seen in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, never mind playing in the top division and playing for the national team too,” the player said previously.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?
Developing in non-league
His path in football has not been a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an option and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he chose to stay on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at home with my friends at weekends because I missed almost four and a half years of doing that. Getting that little bit of childhood back was a thing I definitely needed.
“To gain some self-belief by coming back and playing island football was massive for me. It was probably 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 second-half 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 team because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his early progress after an promising start in adult football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” recalled the player. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the next day I was with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against Luton.
He went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he will represent England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Less than three months later, he joined Bournemouth for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
Scott experienced a challenging debut campaign with the club, waiting until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost four months.
“I had a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“It was almost another obstacle and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, developing a formidable understanding in midfield with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign just as impressively for his club, playing in every game to help them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my career,” the player stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, improving day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
