Back when the young midfielder made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That prediction proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his maiden call-up to the full England team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a proper blast from the past, a story rarely told in the modern game.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the top division and representing England as well,” Scott stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed 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 path in football has been far from a typical one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to stay on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed almost several years of doing that. Getting that little bit of childhood back was a thing I really needed.
“Building some confidence by coming back and playing island football was massive for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial factors that led me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their league match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his development after an promising beginning in men’s football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” said Scott. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in London, returned home and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
In just a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against the Hatters.
He made eighty-three league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, often being used as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – such was his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
Thanks to 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 reference to City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s best young player award, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he will represent his country and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the game,” his former manager, the player’s boss at the club, stated last year.
Less than three months after, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
Scott endured a challenging debut campaign with the club, having to wait until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a knee operation 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.
“It was yet another obstacle and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, forming a formidable partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has started this season equally as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to help them to fifth in the standings.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” Scott said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, keep enjoying the game, improving every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
