When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This statement turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his first summons to the senior Three Lions squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a proper throwback, a story rarely seen in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, never mind playing in the Premier League and representing England too,” the player said previously.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for me and my family.”
So how did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Learning in non-league
His path in football has not been a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they released him. Bournemouth gave Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he chose to stay on the island and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my mates at weekends because I had missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. Getting that slice of youth back was something I definitely needed.
“To gain some self-belief by returning and playing local football was massive for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial factors that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half 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 side because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring his development after an impressive beginning in men’s football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled Scott. “The first day I joined the youth team, the second day I was with the first team, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
Within a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against Luton.
He made 83 league appearances for the club while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he will represent England and I think he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Within 90 days after, he joined Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
The midfielder experienced a difficult debut campaign with the club, having to wait until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being 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 several months.
“There was a decent run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like yet another setback and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, developing a formidable understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign just as strongly for his club, featuring in every game to help them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” the player said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for football, getting better day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
