When the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That prediction turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his maiden call-up to the senior Three Lions squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a proper throwback, a journey rarely seen in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the Premier League and representing England too,” Scott stated previously.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for me and my family.”
So how did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s football journey has not been a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave Scott 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.
Rather, he chose to remain on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” 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. To have that slice of youth back was a thing I definitely required.
“To gain some confidence by coming back and playing local football was massive for me. That proved to be probably 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 came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his early progress after an impressive beginning in men’s football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said Scott. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and by Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
In just 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus Luton.
Scott made 83 league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
With his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was selected in the division’s best XI and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he will represent his country and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Less than 90 days later, he joined the Cherries for a understood fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
The midfielder endured a challenging first season with the Cherries, having to wait until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost four months.
“I had quite a good run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was almost another obstacle and it was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first half.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, developing a formidable partnership in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team under the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign just as impressively for his club, featuring in every game to help them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special moments of my career,” Scott said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, improving every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
