Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That prediction turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Today aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his maiden call-up to the senior England squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a proper throwback, a journey seldom told in the modern game.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, never mind playing in the Premier League and representing England as well,” Scott said previously.
“It has been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
But how did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and play for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he opted to remain on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at home with my mates at weekends because I missed nearly several years of doing that. To have that slice of youth again was something I really needed.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by returning and taking part in local football was huge for me. It was perhaps one of the most important factors that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having 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 back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s development after an promising beginning in adult football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said the player. “Day one I joined the youth team, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a contract.”
In just a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus the Hatters.
Scott made 83 league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, often being used as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he will represent England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at the club, stated last year.
Less than 90 days after, he joined the Cherries for a reported fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
Scott endured a challenging debut campaign with the club, waiting until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost four months.
“I had a decent run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was yet another setback and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, forming a formidable partnership in the middle with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.
And he has begun this season equally as strongly for his club, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” Scott stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, getting better every day, and with luck I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
