When the young midfielder made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This prediction proved to be something of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his maiden call-up to the senior England team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a true blast from the past, a journey seldom seen in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, let alone featuring in the top division and representing the national team too,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances 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 the lower tiers
His path in football has been far from a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to stay on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my mates at weekends because I had missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. To have that little bit of youth again was something I definitely required.
“To gain a bit of confidence by returning and taking part in island football was huge for me. It was perhaps one of the most important things that led me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his development after an impressive start in men’s football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said the player. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in London, 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 put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus the Hatters.
He went on to make eighty-three league outings for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was selected in the league’s best XI and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at the club, stated last year.
Less than three months after, he joined Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
Scott endured a difficult first season with the club, having to wait until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“I had a decent run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was yet another obstacle and it was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first half.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, forming a strong understanding in the middle with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign just as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in every game to help them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” the player stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
