Back when the young midfielder made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This prediction proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his first call-up to the full England team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the top division and playing for the national team too,” the player stated previously.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for me and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s football journey has been far from a typical one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an option and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Instead, he chose to stay on the island and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my friends at weekends because I had missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. To have that slice of youth again was something I definitely needed.
“Building some self-belief by returning and playing island football was huge for me. It was probably one of the most important factors that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their league match at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager 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 pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s development after an impressive beginning in men’s football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” said the player. “The first day I joined the youth team, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in London, travelled back and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus Luton.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his skill 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.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season award, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was named the club’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for his country and I think he will progress to the top of the game,” his former manager, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Within 90 days after, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder experienced a difficult debut campaign with the club, waiting until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, 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 quite a good run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was almost another obstacle and it was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, developing a formidable understanding in midfield with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign just as strongly for Bournemouth, 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 recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for football, improving day on day, and with luck I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
