When the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This prediction turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his first call-up to the full England squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a true blast from the past, a story seldom seen in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, let alone playing in the top division and representing the national team too,” Scott stated previously.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have changed completely for myself and my family.”
So how did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
His football journey has not been a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air 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 decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he opted to stay on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my mates at weekends because I missed nearly several years of doing that. Getting that little bit of childhood again was a thing I really needed.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by returning and playing local football was massive for me. It was perhaps the most crucial factors that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half substitute in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach commented at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an impressive start in men’s football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” recalled the player. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the second day I was with the first team, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a contract.”
Within a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus Luton.
Scott went on to make 83 league outings for the club while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s best young player honour, was selected in the league’s best XI and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Within three months later, he signed for the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
The midfielder experienced a challenging debut campaign with the club, having to wait until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost four months.
“I had a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“It was almost another obstacle and it was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a formidable partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has started this season equally as strongly for his club, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my career,” the player said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, getting better every day, and with luck I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
