When the young midfielder made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That statement turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his maiden call-up to the senior England squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely told in the modern game.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, never mind featuring in the top division and playing for the national team as well,” Scott said previously.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for me and my family.”
But how did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has not been a typical one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before he turned 13, though, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an option and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose to stay on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and flying over every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my friends at weekends because I had missed nearly several years of doing that. To have that slice of youth again was a thing I definitely required.
“Building some confidence by returning and playing local football was huge for me. It was probably 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 was introduced as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring 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 retention 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 Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his early progress after an impressive beginning in men’s football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled Scott. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
Within 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus Luton.
He went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being used as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – such was his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was selected in the division’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for his country and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at the club, stated previously.
Within three months after, he joined Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder experienced a difficult first season with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.
His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost several months.
“I had a decent run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“It was yet another obstacle and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, developing a formidable understanding in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as strongly for his club, featuring in all matches to guide them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for the game, getting better every day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
