Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This statement proved to be something of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his maiden call-up to the senior Three Lions squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a proper throwback, a story rarely seen in the modern game.
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 England as well,” Scott said previously.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed drastically for myself and my family.”
So how did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has not been a conventional one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they released him. Bournemouth gave Scott an option and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he opted to stay on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my friends at the weekend because I missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. Getting that little bit of youth back was a thing I really required.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by coming back and playing local football was massive for me. It was probably the most crucial things that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, Scott made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach commented at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his early progress after an impressive beginning in men’s football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled Scott. “The first day I joined the youth team, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I played for his local side in London, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against Luton.
He went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the club while in his teens, often being used as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s best young player award, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he will represent his country and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Within three months after, he joined Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
Scott endured a challenging 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 being in and out of the team.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly several months.
“I had a decent run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and it was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He started 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 gone on to impress for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season equally as strongly for his club, featuring in all matches to guide them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special moments of my life,” Scott stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, keep enjoying football, getting better day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
