When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This prediction turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his first call-up to the senior England team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a proper throwback, a journey seldom seen in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, never mind featuring in the top division and playing for England as well,” the player stated previously.
“It has been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have changed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott an option and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Instead, he chose to remain on the island and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my mates at weekends because I missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. To have that little bit of youth back was a thing I definitely needed.
“Building a bit of self-belief by returning and playing island football was huge for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important factors that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their league match at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” manager the coach commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an impressive start in men’s football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” said the player. “The first day I joined the youth team, the next day I was with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against the Hatters.
Scott made eighty-three league appearances for the club while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – such was his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and national team playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he will represent his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Within three months later, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
The midfielder endured a difficult first season with the club, waiting until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost several months.
“I had a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a strong understanding in the middle with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as strongly for his club, playing in every game to guide them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying the game, improving every day, and with luck I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
