Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This statement proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his first call-up to the senior England team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a proper blast from the past, a story seldom seen in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, let alone playing in the top division and representing the national team too,” Scott stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
So how did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s path in football has not been a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he opted to stay on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my friends at weekends because I missed nearly several years of doing that. To have that little bit of youth back was something I definitely needed.
“Building a bit of self-belief by returning and playing island football was massive for me. It was probably one of the most important factors that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by islander their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an impressive beginning in men’s football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled Scott. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I was with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I played for his local side in London, returned home and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within 18 months, 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 in his teens, frequently being used as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – such was his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season 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’ll go on to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at the club, remarked previously.
Less than three months later, he signed for the Cherries for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder endured a difficult first season with the club, having to wait until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly several months.
“There was a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like almost another setback and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ 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 the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as strongly for his club, playing in every game to help them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” the player stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, keep enjoying the game, improving every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
