When the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That prediction proved to be something of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his maiden summons to the full Three Lions squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a proper blast from the past, a story rarely seen in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, let alone playing in the Premier League and representing England too,” Scott stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for me and my family.”
So how did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Developing in non-league
His football journey has not been a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they released him. The Cherries gave him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he chose to stay on the island and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at home with my mates at weekends because I had missed almost several years of that experience. To have that slice of childhood again was something I definitely needed.
“To gain a bit of confidence by coming back and playing island football was massive for me. It was perhaps one of the most important things that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his development after an promising start in men’s football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” recalled the player. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus Luton.
He went on to make 83 league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. 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 down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he will represent England and I think he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Less than 90 days later, he joined the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
Scott experienced a challenging first season with the Cherries, having to wait until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem 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 nearly several months.
“I had a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, developing a strong understanding in midfield with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, maintain my love for football, getting better every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
