When the young midfielder made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This statement turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his maiden summons to the senior England squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a proper throwback, a story seldom seen in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, never mind playing in the top division and playing for England too,” the player said previously.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for me and my family.”
But how did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s football journey has not been a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early each Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave him an option and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to remain on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to chill at home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed almost four and a half years of that experience. To have that little bit of childhood again was a thing I definitely required.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by returning and taking part in local football was huge for me. It was perhaps one of the most important factors that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the team because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – owned by islander their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an impressive start in men’s football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” recalled the player. “The first day I joined the youth team, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a three goals. It was almost 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 first-team debut against the Hatters.
Scott made 83 league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his ability to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s best young player award, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Less than 90 days later, he joined Bournemouth for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder experienced a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“I had quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was yet another obstacle and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, forming a formidable understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as strongly for his club, playing in all matches to help them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” Scott said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for football, improving day on day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
