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When Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”

This statement proved to be something of an understatement.

Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his first call-up to the senior England team.

His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely told in the modern game.

Next stop? A major tournament?

“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the Premier League and representing the national team as well,” the player said previously.

“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed completely for myself and my family.”

So in what way did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?

Learning in non-league

His football journey has been far from a typical one.

He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.

Before he turned 13, however, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer him an option and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.

Instead, he chose to stay on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.

“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.

“All I desired to relax at my home with my mates at weekends because I had missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. Getting that little bit of youth back was a thing I really required.

“To gain some confidence by coming back and taking part in island football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important factors that led me where I am today.”

At the age of 16, the teenager became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.

“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated back then.

“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”

Returning to the pro ranks

Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s development after an impressive beginning in adult football and gave him a trial in December 2019.

“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled Scott. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a complete shock.

“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to sign a contract.”

In just 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus Luton.

He made eighty-three league outings for the club while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.

Thanks to his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.

At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.

“No doubt, I believe he will represent England and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at the club, stated last year.

Less than three months later, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of £25m.

Getting his major transfer

Scott endured a challenging debut campaign with the club, waiting until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the team.

His following season was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly four months.

“I had a decent run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.

“That felt like almost another obstacle and it 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 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 tournament in Slovakia, forming a formidable understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.

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

“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” Scott said earlier this season.

“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a player, keep enjoying the game, improving every day, and with luck I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”