When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That prediction turned out to be something of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his maiden summons to the full England team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a proper blast from the past, a story rarely seen in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, let alone playing in the top division and playing for England as well,” the player said previously.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s football journey has not been a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer him an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at home with my friends at weekends because I had missed almost several years of doing that. Getting that little bit of youth again was a thing I really required.
“To gain some self-belief by coming back and playing island football was massive for me. It was probably one of the most important things that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an promising beginning in men’s football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” said Scott. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
Within 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus the Hatters.
He went on to make 83 league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, often being used as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and national team playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I think he will represent his country and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at the club, stated last year.
Less than 90 days later, he joined Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
The midfielder 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 finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“I had quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“It was almost another obstacle and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, developing a formidable partnership in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign just as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in every game to help them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying football, getting better every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
