Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That statement turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his first call-up to the senior Three Lions squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a proper throwback, a journey seldom seen in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, never mind playing in the Premier League and playing for England too,” the player stated previously.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have changed drastically for me and my family.”
But how did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
His football journey has not been a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he opted to stay on Guernsey and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. To have that little bit of childhood again was a thing I really needed.
“To gain a bit of confidence by coming back and playing local football was huge for me. It was probably the most crucial factors that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their league fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include 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 runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an promising beginning in adult football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said Scott. “Day one I joined the youth team, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
Within a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against Luton.
He went on to make eighty-three league outings for the club while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position 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 City and national team playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he will represent England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Within 90 days later, he signed for the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
Scott experienced a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost several months.
“There was a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was yet another obstacle and it was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, forming a strong partnership in midfield with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to guide them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special moments of my career,” the player stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, improving day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
