Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This prediction proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his first summons to the full England team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a true throwback, a story rarely seen in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, never mind playing in the top division and playing for England as well,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for me and my family.”
So how did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has not been a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave him an option and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to stay on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my friends at weekends because I had missed almost several years of that experience. Getting that little bit of childhood again was something I really required.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by returning and taking part in local football was massive for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important factors that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include 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 exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his development after an impressive beginning in adult football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled the player. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, 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 played for the youth team and scored a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to sign a contract.”
Within a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against the Hatters.
Scott went on to make 83 league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, often being used as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role 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 moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England 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 division’s best XI and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for England and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Within three months after, he joined the Cherries for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
The midfielder experienced a challenging debut campaign with the club, waiting until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was almost another setback and it 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 managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, developing a strong understanding in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as strongly for his club, featuring in all matches to guide them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special moments of my career,” the player stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a player, maintain my love for the game, improving day on day, and with luck I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
