When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This prediction turned out to be something of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his first call-up to the senior England squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a true throwback, a journey seldom seen in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the top division and playing for the national team too,” the player said previously.
“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 ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s football journey has not been a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ 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 attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Instead, he opted to stay on the island and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my friends at the weekend because I missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. To have that slice of youth back was a thing I really needed.
“Building some confidence by returning and playing local football was massive for me. It was probably one of the most important things that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, Scott made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” manager 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 – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an promising start in adult 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 under-18s, the second day I was with the first team, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against Luton.
He went on to make eighty-three league outings for the club while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for his country and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Within 90 days later, he signed for the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
Scott experienced a difficult debut campaign with the club, having to wait until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury 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 almost four months.
“I had quite a good run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and it was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, developing a formidable partnership in midfield with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season just as impressively for his club, featuring in all matches to guide them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, getting better day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
