When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This prediction proved to be something of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his first call-up to the senior England squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a true throwback, a journey seldom seen in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the top division and representing the national team as well,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have transformed completely for myself and my family.”
So in what way did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
His football journey has not been a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave him an option and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose 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 overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my mates at weekends because I had missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. Getting that slice of youth back was a thing I definitely needed.
“To gain some self-belief by returning and taking part in island football was massive for me. It was perhaps the most crucial things that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as 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 sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s development after an impressive beginning in adult football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” recalled Scott. “Day one I joined the youth team, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a contract.”
Within a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against the Hatters.
He made eighty-three league outings for the club while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was selected in the league’s best XI and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Less than 90 days after, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder endured a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being in and out of the team.
His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“I had a decent run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was yet another setback and it was turning out to be a pretty bad start 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 for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, developing a formidable partnership in midfield with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season equally as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to guide them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” Scott said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, improving day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
