Back when the young midfielder made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That prediction turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his maiden call-up to the full Three Lions team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a true throwback, a story seldom seen in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, never mind featuring in the top division and representing the national team too,” Scott said previously.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have changed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
So how did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s path in football has not been a conventional one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before he turned 13, though, they released him. Bournemouth gave Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he chose to stay on the island and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed nearly several years of doing that. To have that little bit of childhood back was a thing I really needed.
“Building a bit of confidence by coming back and playing island football was huge for me. It was probably the most crucial factors that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half substitute in their 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 stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring his early progress after an impressive beginning in men’s football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” said Scott. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
Within 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus the Hatters.
He made 83 league outings for the club while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
With his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and national team playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he will represent England and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at the club, remarked previously.
Less than three months later, he joined the Cherries for a understood fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
Scott endured a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“There was a decent run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was yet another obstacle and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, developing a formidable understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has started this season equally as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to guide them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my career,” Scott stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying football, getting better day on day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
