When the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That statement turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his first call-up to the full Three Lions squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a proper throwback, a story rarely seen in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, never mind featuring in the top division and playing for the national team too,” the player said previously.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for me and my family.”
But how did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s football journey has not been a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave him an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he opted to stay on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. Getting that slice of childhood again was something I really required.
“To gain some self-belief by coming back and taking part in island football was huge for me. It was probably the most crucial things that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the team because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an impressive start in adult football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” said the player. “The first day I joined the youth team, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
Within a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus the Hatters.
He went on to make 83 league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, often being used as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he will represent England and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Less than three months later, he joined Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder experienced a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“I had a decent run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was yet another setback and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, forming a formidable understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started this season equally as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” the player stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, getting better every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
