When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That prediction proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his maiden call-up to the senior Three Lions squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a true blast from the past, a journey rarely told in the modern game.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, never mind featuring in the top division and representing England too,” the player stated previously.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
But how did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Developing in non-league
His path in football has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early each Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they released him. 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 stay on the island and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my mates at the weekend because I missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. To have that slice of childhood again was something I really required.
“Building a bit of self-belief by returning and playing island football was huge for me. It was perhaps the most crucial things that got 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 came on as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an promising beginning in adult football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” said Scott. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I played for his local side in London, returned home and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a contract.”
Within a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against Luton.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league outings for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he will represent England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Within three months after, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
The midfielder endured a difficult first season with the Cherries, waiting until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“I had a decent run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and it was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, forming a formidable understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the first team under the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as strongly for his club, featuring in all matches to help them to fifth in the standings.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” the player stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, getting better day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
