Back when the young midfielder made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This prediction proved to be something of an underestimation.
Today aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his maiden summons to the senior Three Lions team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a true blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the Premier League and playing for England too,” the player stated previously.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for me and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?
Developing in non-league
His football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave him an option and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Instead, he opted to stay on the island and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. To have that slice of childhood again was something I really needed.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by returning and taking part in island football was massive for me. That proved to be probably 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 came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” manager the coach commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his development after an promising start in men’s football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” recalled the player. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus the Hatters.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability 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 nod to Manchester City and England playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for England and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Less than three months later, he signed for the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
Scott endured a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“I had quite a good run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, developing a strong understanding in the middle with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the first team under the national coach.
And he has started this season just as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” the player stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, improving every day, and with luck I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
