Back when the young midfielder made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This statement turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his maiden call-up to the full England team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a proper throwback, a story rarely seen in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, never mind playing in the Premier League and playing for the national team too,” Scott stated previously.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
But how did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
His football journey has not been a typical one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they released him. The Cherries gave him an option and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose to stay on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my friends at weekends because I had missed almost four and a half years of that experience. Getting that little bit of youth back was something I definitely needed.
“Building a bit of self-belief by returning and playing island football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important things that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning 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 gave him a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said the player. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
Within a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
He made 83 league appearances for the club while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for his country and I think he will progress to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Within 90 days later, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder endured a challenging first season with the Cherries, waiting until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“There was a decent run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and it was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, developing a strong partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign equally as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to guide them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” Scott stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, keep enjoying the game, getting better every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
