Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This statement proved to be something of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his first summons to the senior Three Lions squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely told in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the top division and representing England too,” the player stated previously.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed completely for me and my family.”
So how did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
His path in football has not been a typical one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
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 recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed almost several years of doing that. Getting that little bit of childhood again was something I really required.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by coming back and taking part in local football was huge for me. It was perhaps the most crucial factors that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” manager the coach commented at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by islander their owner – had been monitoring his early progress after an impressive start in men’s football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled the player. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday 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. 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 earning his first-team debut versus Luton.
Scott made eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, often being used as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was selected in the division’s best XI and was voted the club’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,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Less than three months later, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
The midfielder experienced a challenging first season with the Cherries, waiting until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“There was 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 setback and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, forming a strong understanding in the middle with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign just as impressively for his club, playing in all matches to help them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” the player stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, maintain my love for the game, improving day on day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
