Back when the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That prediction turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his first summons to the senior Three Lions squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a true throwback, a story seldom told in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, let alone playing in the top division and playing for the national team too,” Scott stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for myself and my family.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has not been a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before he turned 13, though, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave 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 chose to remain on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed almost four and a half years of doing that. Getting that slice of childhood again was a thing I definitely needed.
“Building some self-belief by coming back and taking part in local football was huge for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important things that led me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an promising start in adult football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” said Scott. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I featured for his local side in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to sign a contract.”
In just a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against Luton.
Scott went on to make 83 league appearances for the club while in his teens, frequently being used as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his ability to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I think he will represent England and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Within 90 days later, he joined the Cherries for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
Scott experienced a challenging first season with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost four months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, developing a formidable partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season equally as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in every game to guide them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” Scott said recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, getting better every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”