Back when the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That statement turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his maiden summons to the senior England team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a proper throwback, a story seldom told in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, never mind playing in the top division and playing for England as well,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed completely for me and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Learning in the lower tiers
His path in football has not been a typical one.
He was part of over four years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he chose to stay on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my friends at weekends because I had missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. Getting that little bit of childhood again was something I definitely needed.
“Building some self-belief by coming back and playing local football was massive for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial factors that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team 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 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 tracking Scott’s early progress after an impressive start in men’s football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said the player. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against Luton.
He made 83 league appearances for the club while in his teens, often being used as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and England playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Less than 90 days later, he joined Bournemouth for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder endured a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly 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.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, developing a strong understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has started this season just as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in every game to help 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 footballer, maintain my love for football, improving day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
