Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This prediction turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his first summons to the full Three Lions team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely told in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, never mind playing in the Premier League and playing for England too,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for myself 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 path in football has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he chose to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my mates at the weekend because I missed almost four and a half years of that experience. To have that slice of childhood back was something I definitely required.
“Building some confidence by returning and playing local football was huge for me. It was probably the most crucial things that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an impressive beginning in adult football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said Scott. “Day one I joined the youth team, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in London, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to sign a contract.”
Within 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus Luton.
Scott went on to make 83 league outings for the Robins while in his teens, often being used as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating 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 rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he will represent England and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at the club, stated last year.
Within 90 days after, he joined Bournemouth for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
The midfielder endured a difficult first season with the Cherries, waiting until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost four months.
“There was a decent run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like almost another setback and it was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, forming a formidable understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign just as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to help them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special moments of my career,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, maintain my love for football, getting better every day, and with luck I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
