Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This statement proved to be something of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his maiden call-up to the senior England team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a proper blast from the past, a story rarely told in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, let alone playing in the top division and playing for the national team too,” Scott said previously.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have transformed completely for me and my family.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has not been a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave him an option and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he opted to stay on the island 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 explained.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my mates at weekends because I missed almost several years of doing that. Getting that slice of childhood again was something I really required.
“To gain some self-belief by returning and taking part in island football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important things that led me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by islander their owner – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an promising beginning in adult football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled Scott. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the second day I was with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to sign a contract.”
In just a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus Luton.
Scott made 83 league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being used as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and national team playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s best young player award, was selected in the league’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he’ll play for England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s manager at the club, stated last year.
Less than three months after, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
Scott endured a difficult debut campaign with the club, having to wait until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“There was a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and it was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, developing a strong understanding in the middle with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the first team under the national coach.
And he has begun this season just as impressively for his club, featuring in all matches to help them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my life,” the player said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and with luck I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
