Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This statement proved to be something of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his maiden summons to the senior England squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a true throwback, a journey rarely seen in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, never mind playing in the Premier League and representing England too,” Scott said previously.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for myself and my family.”
But how did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Developing in the lower tiers
His path in football has not been a conventional one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, however, 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.
Rather, he opted to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed almost four and a half years of that experience. Getting that little bit of youth back was a thing I really needed.
“To gain a bit of confidence by returning and taking part in island football was huge for me. It was probably one of the most important factors that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his development after an promising beginning in adult football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said the player. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I featured for his local side in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
In just 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against Luton.
He went on to make 83 league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for his country and I think he will progress to the top of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Within three months after, he joined Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
Scott experienced a challenging first season with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.
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 the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“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 called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, developing a formidable partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has begun this season just as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to guide them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, improving day on day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
