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 coach at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This statement proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his first call-up to the full Three Lions squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a true blast from the past, a journey rarely told in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, let alone playing in the top division and representing England as well,” Scott stated previously.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself 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 starting at eight, leaving school early each Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott an option and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to remain on the island and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at home with my friends at weekends because I missed nearly several years of that experience. Getting that little bit of youth back was something I definitely needed.
“To gain some self-belief by coming back and taking part in island football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial things that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, Scott became 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 trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his early progress after an impressive start in adult football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” recalled the player. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
Scott went on to make 83 league appearances for the club while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – such was his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s best young player award, was selected in the league’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 think he will progress to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at the club, stated last year.
Less than three months after, he joined the Cherries for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being 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.
“There was a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“That felt like yet another setback and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, developing a formidable partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign just as impressively for his club, playing in every game to help them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my career,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for the game, getting better every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
