When the young midfielder made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That prediction turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his maiden call-up to the senior England squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a true throwback, a story seldom seen in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, let alone playing in the top division and playing for the national team too,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed completely for me and my family.”
But how did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Developing in the lower tiers
His football journey has not been a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before he turned 13, though, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer him 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 stay on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my mates at weekends because I missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. Getting that slice of childhood again was a thing I really required.
“To gain some confidence by coming back and taking part in local football was huge for me. It was perhaps one of the most important factors that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by islander their owner – had been monitoring his early progress after an impressive beginning in men’s football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” said Scott. “Day one I joined the youth team, the next day I was with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against Luton.
He made eighty-three league appearances for the club while in his teens, often being used as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s best young player honour, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he will represent his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Less than three months later, he signed for the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
Scott experienced a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being in and out of the team.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly four 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 yet another setback and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit 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 strong partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started this season equally as impressively for his club, featuring in every game to help them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special moments of my life,” the player stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a player, maintain my love for the game, improving day on day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
