When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This prediction turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his maiden call-up to the senior Three Lions team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a true blast from the past, a journey seldom told in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, never mind featuring in the top division and playing for the national team too,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for me and my family.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
His path in football has not been a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they released him. Bournemouth gave him an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at home with my mates at weekends because I had missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. Getting that slice of youth back was a thing I really required.
“Building a bit of self-belief by coming back and taking part in island football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial factors that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by islander their owner – had been tracking his early progress after an promising start in men’s football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“It was hectic,” said Scott. “Day one I joined the youth team, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
Scott made 83 league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack 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 down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was selected in the league’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he will represent England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Less than three months after, he joined the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
The midfielder experienced a difficult first season with the club, having to wait until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost several months.
“I had a decent run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“It was yet another setback and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, developing a formidable understanding in midfield with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign equally as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to guide them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” Scott stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying football, getting better every day, and with luck I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
