Back when the young midfielder made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That statement turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his first call-up to the full Three Lions squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a true throwback, a story seldom seen in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, never mind playing in the top division and representing England as well,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
But how did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has been far from a typical one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before he turned 13, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he chose to stay on the island and turn out 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 friends at the weekend because I had missed almost four and a half years of doing that. To have that slice of youth again was something I definitely required.
“To gain a bit of confidence by returning and taking part in local football was massive for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial factors that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker 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 trying to work out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” manager the coach stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his development after an impressive beginning in adult football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” recalled Scott. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to sign a contract.”
Within 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus Luton.
He made 83 league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s young player of the season award, was selected in the league’s best XI and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for his country and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at the club, remarked previously.
Less than 90 days later, he signed for the Cherries for a understood fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
The midfielder endured a difficult first season with the club, waiting until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“I had quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and it was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, developing a formidable partnership in midfield with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign just as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” the player said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and with luck I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”