Back when the young midfielder made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then assured, “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 Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his maiden call-up to the senior Three Lions squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a proper blast from the past, a journey seldom seen in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, let alone playing in the top division 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 circumstances have changed completely for me and my family.”
But how did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has not been a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they released him. Bournemouth gave him an option and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Instead, he opted to remain on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed almost four and a half years of that experience. To have that slice of childhood back was a thing I really needed.
“To gain some confidence by returning and taking part in local football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important things that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights 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.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by islander their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an impressive beginning in adult football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled Scott. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the next day I was with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to sign a contract.”
In just a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus Luton.
Scott made 83 league appearances for the club while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he will represent his country and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at the club, stated previously.
Less than 90 days later, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder endured a challenging first season with the Cherries, having to wait until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost several months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like almost another setback and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, developing a strong understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has begun this season just as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” the player stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for the game, getting better every day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
