Back when the young midfielder made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This prediction proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his maiden summons to the senior Three Lions squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a proper blast from the past, a story rarely told in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, never mind playing in the Premier League and playing for England as well,” the player stated previously.
“It has been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for myself and my family.”
So how did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s football journey has not been a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to remain on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed nearly several years of that experience. Getting that little bit of youth again was a thing I really needed.
“Building some confidence by coming back and taking part in island football was massive for me. It was probably the most crucial factors that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his development after an impressive start in adult football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” recalled Scott. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I featured for his local side in London, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
In just 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus the Hatters.
He made 83 league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he’ll play for England and I think he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Within three months later, he joined Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
Scott experienced a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost several months.
“There was a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and it was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a formidable understanding in midfield with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign equally as impressively for his club, 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 occasions of my life,” the player said recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, getting better every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
