When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That statement turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his first summons to the senior Three Lions squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a true throwback, a story rarely seen in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, never mind playing in the top division and playing for the national team as well,” Scott stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed completely for myself and my family.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
His football journey has not been a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they released him. Bournemouth gave him an option and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to stay on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed almost four and a half years of that experience. Getting that little bit of youth again was something I really required.
“To gain some self-belief by returning and taking part in island football was huge for me. It was perhaps one of the most important factors that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their 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 side because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach commented at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his early progress after an impressive beginning in adult football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled the player. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the next day I was with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in London, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against Luton.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league outings for the Robins while in his teens, often being used as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I think he will represent England and I think he will progress to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at the club, stated last year.
Less than three months after, he signed for the Cherries for a understood fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder endured a difficult first season with the club, having to wait until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was almost another setback and it was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, developing a strong partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the first team with the national coach.
And he has started this season just as impressively 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 occasions of my life,” Scott stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, getting better day on day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
