When the young midfielder made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This prediction proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his first summons to the senior Three Lions squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a true throwback, a story rarely seen in the modern game.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, let alone featuring in the top division and playing for England as well,” Scott stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have transformed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
So how did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s football journey has been far from 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 the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Instead, he chose to stay on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. Getting that little bit of youth again was something I definitely needed.
“Building a bit of confidence by coming back and taking part in local football was massive for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial things that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their league match at the opposition.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – chaired by islander their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an impressive start in adult football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled Scott. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against Luton.
He made 83 league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
With his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he will represent his country and I think he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Less than three months after, he joined Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
Scott endured a challenging first season with the Cherries, waiting until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost four months.
“I had a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“It was almost another obstacle and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, forming a formidable partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign equally as impressively for his club, playing in every game to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” Scott said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying the game, improving day on day, and with luck I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
