Back when the young midfielder made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This statement proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his maiden summons to the senior England team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a proper throwback, a journey seldom told in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, never mind playing in the top division and representing England as well,” the player said previously.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
His path in football has not been a typical one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed almost four and a half years of that experience. To have that slice of youth back was a thing I really needed.
“Building a bit of confidence by coming back and playing local football was massive for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial things that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half replacement in their league match at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” manager the coach stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an promising beginning in adult football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said the player. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the second day I was with the first team, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
Within 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus the Hatters.
Scott went on to make 83 league outings for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season 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 the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for England and I think he will progress to the top of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s manager at the club, remarked last year.
Less than 90 days later, he joined the Cherries 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 the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost several months.
“I had a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was almost another setback and the year 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 regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, forming a formidable understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign just as strongly for his club, playing in every game to help them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” Scott said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
