When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That statement turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his first summons to the full Three Lions team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a true throwback, a story seldom told in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the top division and playing for England too,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed completely for me and my loved ones.”
So how did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
His football journey has been far from a typical one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he opted to remain on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at home with my mates at weekends because I had missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. Getting that little bit of childhood back was something I really needed.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by returning and taking part in island football was huge for me. It was perhaps one of the most important factors that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s development after an promising beginning in men’s football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled Scott. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against Luton.
He went on to make eighty-three league outings for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being used as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and England playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was selected in the league’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for England and I think he will progress to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at the club, stated previously.
Within 90 days later, he joined the Cherries for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
Scott experienced a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“I had quite a good run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“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 selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, forming a formidable partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team under the national coach.
And he has begun this season just as impressively for his club, featuring in every game to guide them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” the player said recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying the game, improving day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
