Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This statement turned out to be something of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his first call-up to the senior Three Lions team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a proper blast from the past, a journey seldom told in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the top division and playing for the national team as well,” the player stated previously.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for me and my loved ones.”
So how did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Learning in non-league
His path in football has not been a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of 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 Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, though, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave him 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 Guernsey and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my friends at weekends because I had missed almost four and a half years of doing that. Getting that little bit of youth back was a thing I really required.
“To gain some self-belief by returning and playing local football was massive for me. It was perhaps one of the most important factors that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their league fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his early progress after an promising beginning in men’s football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled Scott. “Day one I joined the youth team, the next day I was with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
Within a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus Luton.
He went on to make 83 league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he’ll play for his country and I think he’ll go on to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at the club, stated last year.
Within 90 days later, he joined the Cherries for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
Scott experienced a challenging first season with the Cherries, having to wait until October to earn 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 just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“I had quite a good run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“It was almost another obstacle and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first half.”
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 games as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, forming a formidable partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started this season equally as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to help them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my life,” Scott said recently.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, improving day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
