When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That prediction turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his maiden call-up to the full Three Lions squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a true throwback, a story rarely seen in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, let alone playing in the Premier League and playing for the national team too,” the player stated previously.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they released him. Bournemouth gave him an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to stay on Guernsey and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted 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 childhood back was a thing I really required.
“To gain a bit of confidence by coming back and taking part in island football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial things that led me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his early progress after an impressive start in men’s football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said Scott. “The first day I joined the youth team, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
In just a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against Luton.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league outings for the Robins while in his teens, often being used as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.
With his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s best young player honour, was selected in the league’s best XI and was named the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for England and I think he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Within three months after, he joined the Cherries for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
Scott endured a challenging debut campaign with the club, waiting until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost four months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was yet another setback and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, forming a strong partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in every game to guide them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” Scott said recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying football, getting better day on day, and with luck I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
