Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That prediction proved to be something of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his maiden summons to the senior Three Lions squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a true blast from the past, a story seldom seen in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, let alone featuring in the top division and playing for England too,” the player said previously.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed completely for me and my loved ones.”
So how did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
His path in football has been far from a typical one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott an option and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he chose to remain on the island and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my friends at weekends because I missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. To have that little bit of youth back was a thing I really needed.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by returning and playing island football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important factors that led me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance 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
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking his early progress after an promising beginning in adult football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled the player. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the second day I was with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
Within a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus the Hatters.
Scott made 83 league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s best young player award, was selected in the division’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he will represent England and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at the club, stated previously.
Within three months later, he joined Bournemouth for a understood fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
The midfielder experienced a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost several months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like yet another setback and it was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, forming a strong partnership in midfield with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the first team under the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign just as impressively for his club, playing in every game to guide them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” the player stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, maintain my love for football, improving day on day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
