Back when the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This statement proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his first call-up to the senior England team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a true blast from the past, a story seldom told in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, never mind playing in the top division and playing for the national team as well,” the player stated previously.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed drastically for me and my family.”
So how did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s path in football has been far from a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he chose to remain on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my mates at weekends because I had missed nearly several years of doing that. Getting that little bit of youth again was a thing I definitely required.
“To gain a bit of confidence by coming back and taking part in local football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial things that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their league match at the opposition.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get 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 exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking his early progress after an promising beginning in men’s football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled Scott. “The first day I joined the youth team, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
In just 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against Luton.
He made eighty-three league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and England playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for his country and I think he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Within three months later, he joined Bournemouth for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
Scott endured a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being in and out of the team.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost several months.
“There was a decent run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a strong understanding in midfield with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season just as impressively for his club, playing in all matches to help them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my career,” the player said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, improving day on day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
