Back when the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This prediction proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his maiden call-up to the full Three Lions team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a true throwback, a journey rarely told in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, let alone playing in the top division and playing for England too,” the player stated previously.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Developing in non-league
His path in football has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he chose to stay on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at home with my friends at weekends because I had missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. To have that slice of childhood back was something I really needed.
“Building a bit of self-belief by coming back and playing island football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important things that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented 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.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his early progress after an impressive beginning in men’s football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled the player. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
Within 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
Scott made 83 league appearances for the club while in his teens, often being used as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the league’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’m sure he will progress to the top of the game,” his former manager, the player’s boss at the club, stated previously.
Within three months after, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
Scott experienced a challenging debut campaign with the club, 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 following season was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost several months.
“I had a decent run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was almost another obstacle and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, forming a formidable understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started this season just as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in every game to help them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” the player stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for football, getting better every day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
