Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That prediction turned out to be something of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his maiden call-up to the senior Three Lions team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a proper throwback, a story seldom told in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the Premier League and playing for England too,” Scott said previously.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for me and my family.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Developing in non-league
His football journey has not been a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before he turned 13, though, they released him. Bournemouth 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 wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose to stay on the island and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at home with my mates at weekends because I had missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. Getting that slice of youth back was a thing I definitely needed.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by coming back and playing local football was huge for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial factors that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an promising start in adult football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” recalled Scott. “Day one I joined the youth team, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus Luton.
He made 83 league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, often being used as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to 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 reference to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the division’s best XI and was named the club’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I think he will represent his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Less than three months later, he joined the Cherries for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
Scott endured a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost four months.
“I had a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was yet another setback and it was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a strong understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season just as strongly for his club, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” the player said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying football, getting better every day, and with luck I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
