When the young midfielder made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This statement turned out to be something of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his maiden call-up to the full Three Lions team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a proper throwback, a journey seldom seen in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, let alone playing in the top division and representing England as well,” Scott said previously.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s football journey has not been a typical one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he opted to stay on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my mates at weekends because I missed nearly several years of that experience. Getting that slice of childhood back was a thing I definitely needed.
“Building a bit of confidence by coming back and taking part in island football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial factors that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott became the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance commented at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an impressive start in adult football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said Scott. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
He made eighty-three league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – such was his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Within three months after, he joined Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
Scott experienced a challenging debut campaign with the club, having to wait until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost several months.
“I had a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, developing a formidable partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team under the national coach.
And he has begun this season just as strongly for his club, playing in every game to guide them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” the player said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
