When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That prediction proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his maiden call-up to the full Three Lions squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a true throwback, a journey rarely seen in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the top division and representing England too,” the player said previously.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for me and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Learning in non-league
His football journey has not been a typical one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an option and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he opted to stay on the island and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at home with my mates at weekends because I missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. To have that little bit of childhood again was something I definitely needed.
“Building some confidence by returning and taking part in island football was massive for me. It was probably one of the most important factors that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half substitute in their league fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an promising beginning in adult football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled the player. “The first day I joined the youth team, the second day I was with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
Within a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the club while in his teens, often being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s best young player honour, was selected in the league’s team of the year 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 pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Less than 90 days later, he signed for the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
The midfielder endured a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost four months.
“There was a decent run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“It was almost another obstacle and it was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a formidable understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season just as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to guide them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my career,” the player said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for the game, improving every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
