Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That prediction proved to be something of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his first summons to the senior England squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a proper throwback, a journey seldom seen in the modern game.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, never mind playing in the top division and playing for England as well,” Scott stated previously.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for me and my family.”
So how did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has not been a conventional one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he opted to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my mates at weekends because I had missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. To have that little bit of youth back was something I really required.
“To gain some confidence by returning and taking part in local football was massive for me. It was perhaps the most crucial factors that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his development after an impressive start in men’s football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” said Scott. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the second day I was with the first team, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in London, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus the Hatters.
Scott made 83 league outings for the club while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and national team playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s best young player honour, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for England and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at the club, stated previously.
Within 90 days later, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
The midfielder experienced a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait 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 following season was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“I had a decent run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, forming a formidable understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign just as impressively for his club, playing in all matches to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” the player stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, improving every day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
