Alex Scott: The Flourishing Guernsey Boy Gone Global
20-year-old creative midfielder Alex Scott has been making waves through the footballing world over the last 18 months.
The English youngster now plies his trade at Premier League side AFC Bournemouth, despite reports from Fabrizio Romano that much “bigger” teams such as Borussia Dortmund and Tottenham Hotspur were interested in making a move for him last summer, so let’s take a look at what has led him to this point.
Alex Scott Starting On The South Coast
In a 2022 interview with the Secret Scout, Alex Scott opened up about his time at Southampton as part of their academy system. Following a summer camp at eight years old, the Saints approached Scott for a trial where he would stay for four-and-a-half years.
When asked about his time with the club, Alex said “It was me and either my dad or my mum who’d have to fly over every weekend. The club paid for the hotel we stayed in every weekend and my parents paid for the flight.”
Following his release aged twelve in 2015, Scott went into AFC Bournemouth’s academy which had recently been promoted to the Premier League for the first time in the club’s history. A year later Scott was offered a contract by the Cherries but chose not to sign it as he wanted to stay at home in Guernsey instead.
It was a bold move. Not many players would reject a chance to play for a Premier League side, but luckily, his decision proved to be the right one. Life would come full circle, as he eventually made the move a few years later.
Alex Scott Growing His Game in Guernsey
Following his decision to stay in Guernsey rather than move to mainland England, Scott continued playing local football until he signed a contract with Guernsey in August of 2019 upon turning 16.
He would make his debut for The Green Lions less than a fortnight later in a match against Dartford-based side Phoenix Sports where Guernsey would run out 2-1 winners, this appearance also meant that Scott was now Guernsey’s youngest ever player at just 16 years and 10 days old.
The tenacious midfielder would go on to make 15 appearances for his hometown side before leaving for Bristol City in January 2020.
Challenging The Championship
Bristol City is where the true signs of what was to come started showing through from Alex Scott. Following a tough start to life in England due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Scott signed his first professional contract in March 2021 where a handful of substitute appearances would be given in the back end of the 2020/21 season under the watchful eyes of Nigel Pearson.
A full debut on the opening day of the 2021/22 season followed where Scott would play 77 minutes against a newly promoted Blackpool side at Ashton Gate. Scott went on to make 39 appearances throughout that campaign, scoring four goals and assisting twice, his first coming in a 2-1 home defeat to eventual play-off winners Nottingham Forest.
During the summer of 2022, Scott was part of an England U19 side that won the Euros in Slovakia, where he scored against Italy in the semi-final.
He would remain with the Robins and even sign a new multi-year deal going into the 2022/23 season despite much-rumoured interest in the 2022 summer window. Throughout last season, Scott’s potential and ability just seemed to grow and grow as he made 49 appearances for Nigel Pearson’s side.
Following a fifth-round Emirates FA Cup tie with Manchester City, Alex Scott earned the praise of Pep Guardiola who called him an “unbelievable player”, Scott would also go on to win the EFL Championship Young Player of the Season award ahead of Amad Diallo.
Premier League Proven
In August 2023, Alex Scott would then complete a £25 million move to AFC Bournemouth, despite the injury he had picked up in pre-season with Bristol City. So far during his time with the Cherries, the “wunderkind” midfielder has played 14 games in all competitions, racking up two goals and four assists.
Scott’s first, and so far only, Premier League goal came in a 3-1 defeat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on New Year’s Eve where he would come off the bench and play 21 minutes against the team he was a fan of growing up. With six minutes left on the clock, Scott’s left-footed strike found its way past Guglielmo Vicario and into the bottom corner.
The youngster has shown no signs of slowing down since his switch from the Championship to the Premier League and it’s safe to say that if he continues to prove himself in England’s top flight then an even bigger move might not be too far away for the player many Bristol City and AFC Bournemouth fans a have dubbed “starboy” over the past two-and-a-half years.
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