When the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This statement turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his first call-up to the full Three Lions squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a true blast from the past, a journey rarely told in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the Premier League and playing for the national team too,” the player said previously.
“It has been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have transformed completely for me and my loved ones.”
So how did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s path in football has not been a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they released him. The Cherries gave him an option and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Instead, he opted to stay on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed nearly several years of that experience. Getting that little bit of childhood again was something I definitely needed.
“Building a bit of self-belief by returning and taking part in local football was huge for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important things that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach commented at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an impressive beginning in adult football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” said the player. “The first day I joined the youth team, the next day I was with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for his local side in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
In just 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against the Hatters.
He went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, often being used as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position 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 moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he will represent his country and I think he will progress to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Less than 90 days after, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
Scott experienced a difficult first season with the Cherries, having to wait until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly several months.
“There was a decent run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was yet another setback and it was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, forming a strong understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season just as impressively for his club, playing in all matches to help them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” the player stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, getting better every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
