When the young midfielder made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his coach 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 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his maiden call-up to the full Three Lions squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a proper blast from the past, a story seldom 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, let alone featuring in the Premier League and playing for England as well,” the player stated previously.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for myself and my family.”
But how did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Developing in the lower tiers
His path in football has been far from a typical one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries 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 opted to stay on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at home with my mates at weekends because I missed almost several years of that experience. To have that little bit of childhood back was a thing I definitely needed.
“Building a bit of self-belief by coming back and taking part in island football was massive for me. It was probably one of the most important things that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his development after an promising beginning in men’s football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said the player. “Day one I joined the youth team, the second day I was with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I played for his local side in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
Within 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against Luton.
He went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the club while still a teenager, frequently 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 their best player.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s best young player award, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was named the club’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s manager at the club, remarked previously.
Less than 90 days after, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
Scott experienced a difficult first season with the club, having to wait until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost several months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was yet another obstacle and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, developing a strong understanding in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign equally as strongly for his club, featuring in all matches to guide them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” the player said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, getting better every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
