When the young midfielder made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This statement proved to be something of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his first call-up to the full England squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a true throwback, a story rarely seen in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, never mind featuring in the top division and playing for England too,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for me and my family.”
But in what way did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Learning in non-league
His football journey has not been a conventional one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before he turned 13, however, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer him an option and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to stay on the island and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my friends at the weekend because I missed nearly several years of that experience. To have that little bit of youth again was something I definitely required.
“Building a bit of confidence by coming back and playing island football was massive for me. It was probably 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 replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side 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 carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an impressive beginning in adult football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” recalled Scott. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I played for his local side in London, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against Luton.
Scott went on to make 83 league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, often being used as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability 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 rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and England playmaker 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 best XI and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for England and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at the club, remarked last year.
Within 90 days later, he signed for the Cherries for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
Scott endured a difficult first season with the Cherries, waiting until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost four months.
“I had quite a good run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was almost another obstacle and it was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, forming a formidable understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has begun this season equally as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to help them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for the game, improving day on day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
