When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That prediction proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his maiden summons to the full Three Lions team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a true throwback, a story seldom told in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, let alone playing in the Premier League and representing England as well,” the player stated previously.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for myself and my family.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has not been a conventional one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer him an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to stay on the island and turn out for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. Getting that slice of childhood again was a thing I definitely required.
“To gain some confidence by coming back and taking part in island football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial things that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by islander their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an promising beginning in adult football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” said Scott. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the second day I was with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I played for his local side in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a contract.”
Within 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against Luton.
He went on to make 83 league outings for the club while in his teens, often being used as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and England playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he will represent England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at the club, remarked last year.
Within three months after, he joined the Cherries for a reported fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
Scott experienced a challenging first season with the club, waiting until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.
His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost four months.
“I had a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and it was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, developing a formidable partnership in the middle with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has started this season equally as strongly for his club, featuring in every game to help them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my career,” the player said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for the game, getting better day on day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
