When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This prediction turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his first summons to the senior England team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a true throwback, a journey seldom seen in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, let alone featuring in the top division and playing for the national team as well,” the player stated previously.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have changed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
But how did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s football journey has been far from a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer him an option and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he chose to remain on the island and turn out for his local team.
“My form had dipped and flying over every week was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my friends at weekends because I had missed nearly several years of that experience. Getting that slice of youth back was something I definitely required.
“To gain some confidence by coming back and playing island football was massive for me. It was perhaps one of the most important factors that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their league match at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s development after an promising beginning in adult football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said the player. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in London, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
Within a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against Luton.
He went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the club while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the league’s best XI and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he will represent his country and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Less than three months later, he joined the Cherries for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
Scott endured a challenging first season with the club, waiting until October to make 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 just as affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“I had a decent 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 start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, developing a formidable understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has started this season equally as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in every game to help them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my career,” the player stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, getting better day on day, and with luck I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
