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 assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That prediction proved to be something of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his maiden summons to the senior England squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a true blast from the past, a journey seldom told in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the top division and playing for the national team as well,” Scott stated previously.
“It has been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
But how did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s path in football has not been a typical one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, skipping school 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.
Before 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 was not in it.
Rather, he opted to remain on the island and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at home with my mates at the weekend because I missed nearly several years of that experience. To have that little bit of childhood again was a thing I really needed.
“To gain a bit of confidence by returning and playing island football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important things that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring his early progress after an promising beginning in adult football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled the player. “The first day I joined the youth team, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in London, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus Luton.
Scott made 83 league outings for the club while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s best young player award, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was named the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for his country and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Less than 90 days after, he signed for the Cherries for a reported fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost four months.
“I had a decent run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like almost another setback 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 U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, forming a formidable understanding in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started this season just as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in every game to help them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” Scott stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for football, improving day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
