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Back when the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”

This prediction proved to be something of an understatement.

Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular 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 England player is a proper blast from the past, a story rarely seen in the modern game.

Next stop? The World Cup?

“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the top division and playing for the national team as well,” the player said previously.

“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed drastically for me and my family.”

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

Learning in the lower tiers

His football journey has been far from a conventional one.

He spent over four years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.

Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they released him. The Cherries gave Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.

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

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

“I just wanted to chill at my home with my mates at the weekend because I missed almost several years of doing that. Getting that little bit of childhood again was a thing I definitely required.

“To gain some self-belief by coming back and taking part in local football was huge for me. It was probably the most crucial factors that got me to this point.”

At the age of 16, Scott became the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their league fixture at the opposition.

“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach commented back then.

“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”

Returning to the professional game

Championship side Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his development after an promising start in men’s football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.

“It was chaos,” recalled the player. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a complete shock.

“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to sign a contract.”

In just a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against Luton.

He made eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, often being used as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.

With his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled 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 campaign he won the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.

“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at the club, stated last year.

Less than 90 days after, he joined the Cherries for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.

Getting his big move

The midfielder experienced a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the team.

His following season was just as 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,” said he.

“It was yet another obstacle and the year was shaping up as 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 started five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, forming a formidable understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.

And he has begun the current campaign just as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to help them to the top five in the table.

“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” Scott said earlier this season.

“The responsibility is mine, 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 earn an opportunity.”