When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That prediction turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his first call-up to the full England team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a true throwback, a journey rarely seen in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, let alone featuring in the Premier League and representing the national team as well,” Scott stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to stay on the island and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed nearly several years of doing that. Getting that slice of childhood back was a thing I definitely needed.
“Building a bit of self-belief by returning and taking part in island football was huge for me. It was perhaps one of the most important factors that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had 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 stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his early progress after an promising beginning in men’s football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said Scott. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the second day I was with the first team, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against the Hatters.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league outings for the club while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for England and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Within 90 days later, he joined Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
Scott experienced a challenging first season with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost four months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“It was yet another setback and it was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, forming a formidable understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the first team with the national coach.
And he has begun this season equally as strongly for his club, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” Scott stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, getting better day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
