Back when the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This statement turned out to be a bit 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 rise from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a proper throwback, a story seldom seen in the modern game.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the Premier League and playing for England as well,” Scott said previously.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for me and my family.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
His football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and play for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave him an option and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to stay on the island and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my mates at weekends because I missed almost four and a half years of doing that. To have that little bit of youth again was something I definitely required.
“Building a bit of self-belief by returning and playing local football was huge for me. It was probably one of the most important factors that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an promising start in men’s football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” said the player. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against Luton.
Scott went on to make 83 league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being used as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his ability 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 Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he will represent his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Less than three months after, he joined Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder endured a difficult first season with the club, waiting until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, 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 good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was almost another setback and it was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, developing a strong understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.
And he has started this season just as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to help them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” the player stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
