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When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”

That statement turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.

Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his first call-up to the full Three Lions squad.

His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a true blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern game.

Next stop? The World Cup?

“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the Premier League and playing for the national team too,” the player stated previously.

“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for me and my family.”

So in what way did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?

Learning in non-league

His football journey has not been a typical one.

He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.

Before he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.

Rather, he chose to stay on Guernsey and play for his local team.

“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.

“I just wanted 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 something I really required.

“Building a bit of self-belief by coming back and playing island 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 youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.

“I had trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance commented back then.

“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”

Making a comeback to the professional game

Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by islander their owner – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an impressive start in men’s football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.

“The whole experience was chaos,” said the player. “The first day I joined the youth team, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total shock.

“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”

Within 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus Luton.

Scott made eighty-three 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 versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.

With his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.

By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.

“Without question, I think he will represent England and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at the club, stated last year.

Within three months later, he joined the Cherries for a reported fee of £25m.

Getting his big move

The midfielder endured a challenging debut campaign with the club, having to wait until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the team.

His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost four months.

“I had quite a good run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.

“It was yet another obstacle and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first half.”

But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness in time.

He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, developing a formidable understanding in the middle with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side under the national coach.

And he has started this season just as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the table.

“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” the player said recently.

“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, keep enjoying football, getting better day on day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”