When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That prediction turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his maiden summons to the senior Three Lions squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a true throwback, a journey rarely told in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the top division and representing the national team as well,” Scott stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has not been a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they released him. The Cherries gave him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose to remain on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed nearly several years of that experience. To have that slice of childhood back was a thing I really required.
“Building some self-belief by returning and taking part in island football was massive for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important factors that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an promising start in adult football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” recalled Scott. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the next day I was with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against the Hatters.
He made eighty-three league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being used as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was selected in the division’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Less than 90 days later, he joined Bournemouth for a understood fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
Scott experienced a difficult first season with the club, waiting until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost four months.
“I had quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was almost another setback and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, developing a formidable partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has begun this season just as strongly for his club, featuring in all matches to guide them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special moments of my life,” Scott said recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, improving day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
