When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That statement proved to be something of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his maiden call-up to the senior England team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a true throwback, a story seldom told in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, let alone playing in the Premier League and playing for England as well,” Scott said previously.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
So how did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Learning in non-league
His football journey has not been a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart 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 traveling every week was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. To have that little bit of childhood back was something I definitely needed.
“To gain some confidence by coming back and taking part in island football was huge for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important things that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by islander their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an promising start in adult football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” said the player. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
Within 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
He made 83 league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won 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 believe he will represent his country and I think he will progress to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at the club, stated previously.
Less than 90 days later, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
Scott experienced a challenging first season with the Cherries, waiting until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“There was a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was almost another setback and it was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, developing a strong partnership in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team under the national coach.
And he has begun this season just as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in every game to help them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, keep enjoying the game, improving day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
