Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This prediction proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his maiden summons to the full England team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a true blast from the past, a journey seldom told in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, let alone featuring in the top division and playing for the national team too,” Scott stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have transformed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s path in football has not been a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to remain on the island and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at home with my friends at the weekend because I missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. To have that slice of youth back was a thing I definitely required.
“Building some self-belief by coming back and playing island football was massive for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important things that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his development after an impressive beginning in men’s football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled the player. “Day one I joined the youth team, the next day I was with the first team, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in London, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
Within 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against Luton.
He went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being used as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and national team attacking midfielder 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 league’s team of the year and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he will represent his country and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at the club, stated previously.
Within three months later, he joined the Cherries for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
The midfielder endured a challenging debut campaign with the club, having to wait until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being in and out of the team.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“There was a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like yet another setback and it was shaping up as 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 started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a strong understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has begun this season just as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” Scott said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and with luck I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
