When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This statement turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his first call-up to the senior Three Lions team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a proper blast from the past, a story seldom seen in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, let alone playing in the top division and playing for the national team as well,” Scott said previously.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
But how did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has been far from a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he opted to remain on the island and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed almost several years of doing that. Getting that slice of childhood back was a thing I really required.
“To gain some self-belief by returning and playing local football was huge for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important factors that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their league match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring his early progress after an impressive start in men’s football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” said Scott. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
Within 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus Luton.
He went on to make eighty-three league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and national team playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s young player of the season award, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he will represent England and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Within three months later, he signed for the Cherries for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
Scott endured a difficult first season with the club, having to wait until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly several months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a formidable partnership in midfield with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has started this season equally as impressively for his club, playing in all matches to help them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” Scott said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying football, improving day on day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
