Back when the young midfielder made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This prediction turned out to be something of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his first summons to the full Three Lions squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a proper blast from the past, a journey seldom seen in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the top division and representing England as well,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Developing in non-league
His path in football has not been 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 travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and play for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they released him. The Cherries gave him an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose to stay on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed almost several years of doing that. Getting that slice of youth again was a thing I really required.
“To gain some confidence by coming back and taking part in island football was massive for me. It was perhaps the most crucial factors that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having 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 at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by islander their owner – had been tracking his early progress after an impressive start in adult football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” recalled the player. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against the Hatters.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.
With his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season award, 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 think he will represent England and I think he’ll go on to the top of the game,” his former manager, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Less than 90 days after, he joined Bournemouth for a understood fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder endured a challenging first season with the club, having to wait until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost several months.
“There was a decent run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“It was almost another obstacle and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, forming a strong partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign just as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in every game to help them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” the player said recently.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for the game, getting better every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
