When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That prediction proved to be something of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his first summons to the senior Three Lions squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a proper blast from the past, a story rarely seen in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, let alone playing in the top division and playing for the national team as well,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances 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 here?
Developing in non-league
His football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air 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, though, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he chose to stay on Guernsey and turn out for his local team.
“My form had dipped and flying over every week was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my mates at the weekend because I missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. Getting that slice of youth back was a thing I really needed.
“To gain some self-belief by returning and taking part in island football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial factors that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an promising beginning in adult football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled Scott. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in London, returned home and by Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against the Hatters.
He made eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, often being used as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for his country and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, the player’s boss at the club, stated previously.
Less than 90 days after, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
Scott endured a challenging debut campaign with the club, waiting until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost several months.
“I had a decent run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“It was yet another obstacle and it was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, developing a strong understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team under the national coach.
And he has started this season just as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” the player said recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, maintain my love for the game, improving day on day, and with luck I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
