When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That statement proved to be something of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his first summons to the full Three Lions team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a true throwback, a journey rarely seen in the modern era.
Next stop? 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 too,” Scott stated previously.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for me and my family.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Learning in the lower tiers
His football journey has been far from a typical one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave him an option and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose to remain on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my friends at weekends because I had missed nearly several years of doing that. To have that little bit of childhood again was a thing I definitely needed.
“Building some confidence by returning and taking part in local football was huge for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important things that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his development after an promising start in adult football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled the player. “The first day I joined the youth team, the second day I was with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
In just 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against the Hatters.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.
With his ability to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s young player of the season award, was selected in the league’s best XI and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he will represent England and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, the player’s manager at the club, stated previously.
Within three months after, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
Scott experienced a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“I had quite a good run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was almost another obstacle and it was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, forming a strong partnership in midfield with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started this season equally as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to guide them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” Scott said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, improving every day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
