When the young midfielder made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That statement proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his maiden call-up to the senior Three Lions squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a true throwback, a journey rarely seen in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, never mind playing in the Premier League and representing the national team as well,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed drastically for myself and my family.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s football journey has been far from a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he chose to remain on the island and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed nearly several years of that experience. To have that little bit of childhood again was a thing I definitely required.
“Building some confidence by returning and taking part in local football was massive for me. It was probably the most crucial factors that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner 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 monitoring his development after an promising start in adult football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“It was hectic,” said the player. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and on the 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 contract.”
In just 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against Luton.
Scott made eighty-three league appearances for the club while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position 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 England playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s best young player honour, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for England and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Less than 90 days after, he joined Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the club, waiting 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 just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“There was a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“It was yet another obstacle and it was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a formidable partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started this season just as impressively for his club, playing in all matches to help them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” the player said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, improving day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
