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 coach at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This prediction turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his maiden call-up to the full England team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a true blast from the past, a journey 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, never mind playing in the top division and representing England too,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed completely for me and my family.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself 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, skipping school every Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he opted to remain on the island and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my friends at the weekend because I missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. Getting that little bit of childhood back was a thing I definitely needed.
“Building a bit of self-belief by coming back and playing island football was massive for me. It was perhaps the most crucial factors that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an promising beginning in men’s football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” said the player. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
Within 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against Luton.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the club while in his teens, frequently being used as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was named the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for his country and I think he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Within 90 days after, he joined Bournemouth for a understood fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was yet another setback and it was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England 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 tournament in Slovakia, developing a formidable partnership in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign just as impressively for his club, playing in all matches to help them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my life,” Scott said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, improving every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
