When the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This prediction proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his maiden summons to the full England team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a proper throwback, a journey rarely seen in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, never mind playing in the Premier League and representing the national team too,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed completely for me and my loved ones.”
So how did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
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 Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he chose to remain on the island and turn out for his local team.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.
“All I desired to chill at home with my friends at weekends because I missed almost several years of doing that. Getting that little bit of childhood again was a thing I really required.
“Building a bit of confidence by coming back and playing local football was huge for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important things that led me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott became the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their league fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by islander their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an promising beginning in adult football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said the player. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in London, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
Within 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus Luton.
He went on to make eighty-three league outings for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth 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 picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at the club, remarked last year.
Within 90 days after, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
Scott endured a difficult debut campaign with the club, waiting 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 disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly several months.
“There was a decent run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“It was almost another setback and it was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, developing a formidable understanding in midfield with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the first team under the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign just as impressively for his club, featuring in all matches to help them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” the player stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a player, maintain my love for the game, getting better every day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
