Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This prediction turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his maiden summons to the senior Three Lions team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a true blast from the past, a journey seldom told in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, let alone playing in the top division and playing for the national team as well,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s football journey has been far from a typical one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he chose to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my mates at weekends because I had missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. Getting that slice of youth back was something I really needed.
“Building a bit of self-belief by returning and playing island football was huge for me. It was probably the most crucial factors that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half substitute in their 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 his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking Scott’s development after an promising beginning in adult football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said Scott. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in the capital, 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 sign a contract.”
Within 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
He went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
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 national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for his country and I think he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Within 90 days after, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
The midfielder experienced a difficult debut campaign with the club, waiting until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost four months.
“I had a decent run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was yet another obstacle and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, developing a formidable partnership in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the first team under the national coach.
And he has begun this season equally as strongly for his club, featuring in every game to guide them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” Scott said recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, improving every day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
