Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That statement turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his first call-up to the senior Three Lions team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, never mind playing in the Premier League and representing England too,” Scott said previously.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for me and my family.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s football journey has not been a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Instead, he chose to stay on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my friends at weekends because I had missed nearly several years of that experience. To have that slice of youth back was something I really required.
“Building some confidence by coming back and taking part in local football was massive for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important factors that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance commented at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by islander their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an impressive start in men’s football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said the player. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
Within a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against Luton.
He went on to make 83 league outings for the club while still a teenager, often being used as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for England and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Within three months later, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
Scott experienced a challenging first season with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a knee operation 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 fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like almost another setback and it was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, forming a strong understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as impressively for his club, featuring in every game to help them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” the player said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, improving day on day, and with luck I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
