Back when the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That statement proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his maiden summons to the senior England squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a proper blast from the past, a journey seldom told in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the top division and representing England too,” the player stated previously.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed completely for myself and my family.”
But how did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
His path in football has not been a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of 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. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an option and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he chose to stay on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. To have that little bit of childhood again was something I really needed.
“Building some self-belief by returning and playing local football was huge for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial factors that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – owned by islander their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an impressive beginning in men’s football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said the player. “Day one I joined the youth team, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
Within 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against Luton.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the club while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he’ll play for his country and I think he will progress to the top of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Within three months after, he joined the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
Scott endured a challenging debut campaign with the club, having to wait until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“I had a decent run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and it was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, forming a formidable understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as strongly for his club, playing in all matches to help them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” the player stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, maintain my love for the game, getting better every day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
