Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That prediction proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his maiden call-up to the full Three Lions team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a true blast from the past, a story seldom seen in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, never mind featuring in the top division and playing for the national team as well,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
So how did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Developing in the lower tiers
His football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they released him. Bournemouth gave him 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 chose to stay on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at home with my friends at the weekend because I missed almost several years of that experience. To have that little bit of youth back was a thing I definitely needed.
“To gain some self-belief by coming back and playing island football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important things that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an promising start in men’s football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” said the player. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for his local side in London, travelled back and by Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
Within a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus Luton.
He made eighty-three league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, often being used as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his ability to carry the ball up the pitch, 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.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was selected in the division’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he will represent his country and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at the club, remarked last year.
Within three months later, he joined the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost several months.
“I had quite a good run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like almost another setback and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
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 Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, developing a strong understanding in the middle with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started this season equally as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to help them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” Scott said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a player, keep enjoying the game, improving day on day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
