When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This statement proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his first summons to the full England squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a proper blast from the past, a story seldom told in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the top division and representing the national team too,” the player said previously.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have changed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s football journey has not been a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer him an option and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose to remain on the island and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed nearly several years of that experience. Getting that slice of youth again was something I definitely required.
“To gain a bit of confidence by returning and playing local football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial factors that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an impressive beginning in men’s football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” said the player. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the next day I was with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I played for his local side in London, returned home and by Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
Scott made 83 league outings for the club while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes 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.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for England and I think he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Within 90 days later, he joined the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
The midfielder endured a difficult first season with the club, waiting until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being in and out of the team.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost four months.
“There was a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“That felt like almost another setback and it was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, forming a strong understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the first team under the national coach.
And he has started this season equally as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to help them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special moments of my life,” the player said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, keep enjoying football, improving day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
