When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That statement proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his maiden call-up to the senior Three Lions team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the Premier League and playing for England as well,” the player said previously.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
But how did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Developing in non-league
His path in football has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind 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 weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my friends at weekends because I missed nearly several years of doing that. To have that slice of youth back was something I definitely needed.
“Building a bit of confidence by returning and taking part in island football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important things that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by islander their owner – had been monitoring his early progress after an promising beginning in adult football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said Scott. “Day one I joined the youth team, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
Within 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against the Hatters.
He made eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod 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 honour, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Less than three months later, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder experienced a challenging debut campaign with the club, having to wait until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost several months.
“I had 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 setback and it was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, developing a formidable understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team under the national coach.
And he has started this season equally as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to guide them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my life,” the player said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, getting better day on day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
