When the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That prediction turned out 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 first summons to the full Three Lions team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a true throwback, a story rarely seen in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, never mind featuring in the Premier League and playing for England too,” Scott stated previously.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for myself and my family.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Learning in non-league
His path in football has been far from a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an option and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to stay on the island and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my friends at weekends because I missed almost four and a half years of doing that. Getting that little bit of childhood again was a thing I definitely needed.
“To gain some self-belief by returning and taking part in island football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important factors that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an impressive start in adult football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said Scott. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I played for his local side in London, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
Within a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
He made eighty-three league outings for the club while in his teens, often being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the division’s best XI and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he will represent England and I think he will progress to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at the club, stated last year.
Less than three months later, he joined Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Getting 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 finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly several months.
“There was a decent run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was yet 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 Under-21 European Championships – 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 the host nation, developing a strong partnership in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.
And he has begun this season equally as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in every game to help them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” Scott stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying the game, improving every day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
