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When Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”

This prediction proved to be a bit of an understatement.

Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his first summons to the senior Three Lions squad.

His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern game.

Next stop? A major tournament?

“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, let alone playing in the Premier League and playing for England as well,” Scott stated in a recent interview.

“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed completely for myself and my loved ones.”

But how did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?

Learning in the lower tiers

His path in football has been far from a typical one.

He spent four and a half 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 mainland so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.

Before he turned 13, though, they released him. Bournemouth gave him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.

Rather, he opted to stay on the island and play for his hometown club.

“My form had dipped and traveling every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.

“I just wanted to chill at my home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed nearly several years of that experience. Getting that little bit of childhood back was a thing I definitely required.

“To gain some self-belief by coming back and playing island football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important things that got me to this point.”

When he was just 16, Scott became the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.

“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance stated at the time.

“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”

Making a comeback to the professional game

Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring his early progress after an impressive beginning in men’s football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.

“The whole experience was chaos,” said the player. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.

“Midweek I played for his local side in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a contract.”

Within a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against Luton.

Scott went on to make 83 league appearances for the club while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.

With his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.

By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s best young player honour, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.

“Without question, I believe he will represent his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at the club, remarked last year.

Within three months later, he joined Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of £25m.

Getting his major transfer

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

His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost four months.

“I had a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.

“It was almost another setback and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first half.”

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 Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, forming a formidable partnership in the middle with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.

And he has begun the current campaign just as strongly for his club, featuring in every game to guide them to the top five in the table.

“To play for the national team would be among the most special moments of my life,” Scott stated recently.

“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying the game, getting better every day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”