When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This prediction proved to be something of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his first call-up to the senior England squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a true blast from the past, a journey rarely told in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, let alone featuring in the Premier League and playing for the national team as well,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have changed drastically for myself and my family.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Developing in non-league
His football journey has not been a typical one.
He was part of over four years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they released him. Bournemouth gave Scott an option and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he opted to remain 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.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my mates at the weekend because I missed almost several years of that experience. To have that slice of childhood back was a thing I really needed.
“Building some confidence by coming back and taking part in local football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important factors that led me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach stated at the time.
“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
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his early progress after an impressive beginning in men’s football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” recalled Scott. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
Within 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus the Hatters.
Scott made eighty-three league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his ability to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s best young player 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’ll play for England and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at the club, remarked last year.
Within three months after, he joined Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
Scott experienced a difficult first season with the club, having to wait until October to make his Premier League 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 several months.
“I had a decent run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“It was yet another setback and it was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, developing a strong partnership in the middle with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign just as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to help them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my career,” Scott stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, getting better every day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
