When the young midfielder made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This prediction turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his maiden call-up to the full Three Lions team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a true throwback, a story seldom told in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, never mind playing in the top division and playing for England as well,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for myself and my family.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Developing in non-league
His path in football has been far from a typical one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he chose to stay on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at home with my friends at weekends because I had missed almost four and a half years of that experience. Getting that little bit of youth again was a thing I definitely needed.
“Building some self-belief by coming back and playing local football was massive for me. It was perhaps one of the most important things that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute 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 team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach commented at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his development after an impressive beginning in men’s football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said the player. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the second day I was with the first team, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for his local side in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
Within 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against the Hatters.
He went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the club while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and England playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he will represent his country and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at the club, stated previously.
Less than three months after, he joined the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
Scott endured a difficult first season with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost several months.
“I had quite a good run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was yet another obstacle and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, developing a strong understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the first team with the national coach.
And he has started this season equally as impressively for his club, featuring in all matches to help them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” the player said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying the game, improving day on day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
